By ANDREW CRUM | THE BROWNSVILLE HERALD
LOS FRESNOS — Jordan Urbina made sure Los Fresnos and its senior-laden squad started the postseason with a bang against Economedes (Edinburg).
Urbina led the Falcons with 24 points, including four 3-pointers, and they used a run in the third quarter to pull away and earn a 75-56 victory over the Jaguars in a Class 6A bi-district boys basketball game Tuesday.
Urbina added six rebounds and five steals and got plenty of help from Andrew Carrizales and Gabriel Martinez along the way. Carrizales finished with 18 points and 10 rebounds and Martinez had 16 points, including nine in the first quarter.
“We’re a senior ball club, so we have a lot of experience,” Urbina said. “Our coach gave us a game plan to follow and said as long as we follow the game plan, we’ll be all right. We’re going to leave it all on the line (in the next round).”
Los Fresnos (31-6) used that experience and took control the third quarter with its defense and a 16-0 run that pushed a six-point advantage to 22.
Economedes (24-13) couldn’t overcome the pressure to match the offensive output and was outscored 38-26 after the break.
“I have three guys that can really score the basketball, they’re a three-headed monster,” Los Fresnos coach Marco Hinojosa said of Urbina, Carrizales and Martinez. “They work so well together, they have big-time chemistry and I’m glad I have them on my team.”
After the Falcons took a seven-point lead into the locker room, the Jaguars tried to keep it close in the third quarter. A layup by Aizer Cavazos got Economedes within five, but Martinez answered for Los Fresnos with a jumper. Urbina followed with a steal and a bucket to get the lead up to nine. Jonathan Barrientos answered with a 3 for the Jaguars to cut it to six. But the Falcons picked up the pressure on defense and went on a 16-0 run that included a pair of 3-pointers by Urbina, who finished with eight points in the quarter to push the edge to 18 through three.
“We knew they could shoot the basketball and in the first half, we weren’t doing a good job of closing them out,” Hinojosa said of his teams adjustment at halftime. “We talked about closing that gap (on defense), not making them comfortable. We did a better job of keeping our man in front and not giving up good looks. We were successful getting turnovers. We put a little more heat on the right personnel … it was a total team effort.”
Although Economedes went on a 6-0 run early in the fourth quarter, Los Fresnos didn’t let the lead slip below 15 points and advanced to the area round for the fourth straight season.
“They started to put pressure on us, they took away our shooters,” Economedes coach Carlos Ramos said of the second half. “(Simon Pina) kept us in it, but the pressure got to us.”
It was a different game from the start. After the teams traded buckets back-and-forth, they were even at 22 after the opening quarter Martinez had nine points for the Falcons and Simon Pina had eight points for the Jaguars. It was much of the same nearly through the second quarter until Los Fresnos took the lead late, ending the half on a 9-2 run that included back-to-back 3-pointers from Elian Gonzalez and Urbina to take a 37-30 advantage at the break.
“It was a track meet in the first quarter, but it settled down in the second quarter and that experience got us,” Ramos said. “They are experienced and they took us out of our rhythm and we took more bad shots than we usually do.”
That lack of experience hurt Economedes down the stretch, Ramos said. But he was confident his team could bounce back next season.
“Los Fresnos is one of the top teams in the Valley, well-coached,” Ramos said. “Next year, we’re bring back four starters, so we’ll have the experience next year.”
Angel Salinas led the Jaguars with 12 points and three rebounds, Barrientos had 10 points and three steals and Cavazos added nine points and seven boards for Economedes.
Lionel Yzaguirre had seven points and seven boards and Tomas Rangel added six points and four boards for the Falcons.
Hinojosa knows the second round has been tough for his team in the past, but he is confident that his senior class isn’t ready to finish playing just yet.
“The second round has been a big hump for us … we have a goal to get over that hump,” he said. “We have plans to get over that by doing the things we’ve been doing all year, defending, sharing the basketball. It’s a senior ball club and they have high expectations, so hopefully we can meet those expectations.”
Andrew Crum covers sports for The Brownsville Herald. You can reach him at (956) 982-6629 or via email at [email protected]. On Twitter he’s @andrewmcrum.