BY SAUL BERRIOS-THOMAS | STAFF WRITER
MERCEDES — Ever since Mercedes beat rival Edcouch-Elsa by three points in overtime Jan. 2, the team has been playing with an added confidence.
“Anytime we meet up with Edcouch, it is a good game,” Mercedes senior forward Caleb Arthur said. “It goes back years. Mercedes versus Edcouch is always a big game.”
In a continuation of a Tuesday postponement, Mercedes kept rolling and won 70-39 over Valley View in a District 32-5A meeting of Tigers.
On Tuesday, a roof leak at Valley View caused severe wetness on the court. Consequently, the game was moved to Mercedes and resumed at the point of stoppage Tuesday.
The strange circumstances of the postponement led to an odd look to the start of Wednesday’s action. Mercedes had a 5-0 lead, and the clock started with just under five minutes left in the first. As a result, Mercedes led from the opening whistle to the final buzzer.
“This puts us at 4-2,” Mercedes coach Rick Trevino said. “It is a decent spot for us, with one game left in the first round, against (Brownsville) Porter. Porter is pretty good, they are the other one, right underneath us and Edcouch in the standings. This is a big win for us, but we will only really get one day to get ready to try to go get one more before the start of the second round.”
Mercedes has shown time and again they can play with anyone in the district. They beat E-E and lost by just three points to district-leading Brownsville Veterans.
While their play and results have proven they are a team to be feared in 32-5A, the team prefers not to think too hard about the standings.
“We have had a lot of close games,” Trevino said. “One game at a time. As cliché as that sounds, that is where our focus needs to be.”
Mercedes is extremely fluid in the way they defend. The back court of senior point guard Jared Castaneda and junior guard Jordan Ovalle have been dominant all year, although Arthur has also stepped into the role of guard often, capable of playing either spot.
What makes Mercedes deadly is their ability to guard the frontcourt. Senior Jesse Fuentes has become a true leader in that department. The first-year varsity player can guard bigger fives or run with smaller teams.
“Caleb leads us in blocks, but usually, he is guarding the best player, whether they are a guard or a big,” Trevino said. “Jesse has come up big for us too. He is an arm and leg guy, he is a bigger body. He can deflect the ball. Even our guard Brandon has done some work against bigs. So I think everybody has done their part to kind of help with the bigs.”
Junior Brandon Lozoya, who is electric on offense, can also guard bigger posts, but his speed allows him to seamlessly transition to guarding smaller players as well.
“Finally, we have some guys that can defend in the post,” Castaneda said. “I know we had some football guys in the past, but finally we have some pure basketball guys. That is what we need. We are glad that we have these versatile guys that can do it on both ends of the floor.”
When Mercedes needs some real size down low, they can also turn to sophomore Horacio Pequeno, whose football body has transitioned well to the court.
Against Valley View on Wednesday, Mercedes was able to showcase a lot of the components that have worked so well this season. They got out and ran in transition, often beating the entire defense to get uncontested layups. The outside shot was also a key weapon for Mercedes on Tuesday, as it has been throughout the season. But Mercedes isn’t all threes and layups, they still used the paint and midrange effectively, and they make it impossible to predict where their points will come from.
On Wednesday, Casataneda had the hot hand, leading the team with 19 points. Ovalle added 12, and Lozoya contributed 11. On any given night, any of the three can lead the team in scoring; Arthur also has that ability.
With the first round nearly done, Mercedes is in a great spot to earn a playoff spot. However, Castaneda and the rest of the team try not to think in those terms.
“We are not in a position to take anyone lightly,” Castaneda said. “I play every game as if it is my last, because as a senior, there are only so many left.”
But the wins certainly bring confidence to the play on the court.
“I think we are feeling pretty good,” Trevino said. “We knew we were playing the reigning district champs early on, and teams that were projected really high early on. So, we try not to get too high with the highs or low with the lows. We knew what the schedule was, that we had a lot of games early on. I think they are playing confident right now. Hopefully they can keep it up the rest of the way.”