By JOSHUA McKINNEY, Staff Writer
Clutch play and cool heads gave the Pace Vikings all the edge they needed in a matchup with District 32-5A’s other unbeaten team.
Pace beat the Mercedes Tigers 52-50 on Tuesday at Mercedes to remain alone at the top of the district standings at 6-0.
Steven Garza’s hot hand during the fourth quarter and big plays from Andres Salgado with just seconds remaining in regulation were X-factors in a tightly contested game.
But Pace coach Jose Luis Ramirez thought it took every player on the team to keep the unbeaten district season alive.
“Great players show up when you need them,” Ramirez said. “They have a lot of burden on their shoulders. (Garza and Salgado) are our scoring leaders, our captains and our go-to guys. Everybody knows that and everybody sets up to stop them.
“How do we get them open? We use our kids from the bench. Luis Rodriguez came up with some big shots and rebounds. A kid coming off the bench in Randy Aguilar. Angel Munoz doesn’t get talked about much, but he’s our defensive pillar. He’s our defensive leader. You don’t see him much because he just goes out there and does his work. He helped with bringing the ball up (the court today), and that’s something that was different with us. We were using so much energy on defense that we had to have Angel bring up the ball more. I think that helped us tonight.”
The teams were tied at 35 to start the fourth quarter. A hustle play for a loose ball early in the quarter led to a momentum swing in Pace’s favor.
Mercedes’ Joe Garcia and Pace’s Angel Munoz scrambled for the free ball. There was contact between the two players after the whistle, which led to two technical fouls on Mercedes.
Steven Garza made four free throws despite the raucous crowd behind him to give Pace a 39-35 lead early in the fourth.
“These guys trust me with the ball, so I have to let them know that they can give me the ball and I’ll get those free throws,” Garza said.
Buckets from Rey Rincon and Roger Adame tied the game again, but a 3 from Garza sparked a 9-2 run to give Pace a lead 48-41 lead with just minutes left on the clock.
Pace had the game all but locked away until multiple turnovers brought Mercedes back in the game, with a 3 from Ricky Jimenez tying the score at 48.
Andres Salgado answered with a bucket on Pace’s end for a 50-48 lead with 47 seconds left, but Adame came back with a layup for Mercedes to tie the game again.
Salgado, though, came up again with another shot to take the lead at 52-50 with less than 10 seconds to go, and he stole the ball on Mercedes’ next possession to give Pace the victory.
Mercedes coach Rick Trevino thought his team had some bad breaks go against it during the fourth, but it was Pace’s ability to capitalize on those situations that shaped the outcome of the game.
“I think that we had some things go the other way for us,” Mercedes coach Rick Trevino said. “Those guys are a solid team. Those techs didn’t help. Our guys came back from it. I don’t think those techs were warranted, either one of them. I thought both kids did something, and I walked a way and he gave me a tech anyway. I don’t believe in switching the momentum that easy. Give a lot of credit to Pace, though. They played hard through it and were given the opportunity, and they took it.”
Garza led Pace with 21 points — including 11 in the fourth — and 17 rebounds. Salgado scored 10 points, and Aguilar came off the bench to score 10.
Jimenez scored 18 to lead Mercedes, and Jaime Rodriguez scored 10.
Pace’s offense was out of rhythm to begin the game, turning the ball over on each of its first three possessions. The Vikings’ defense was rock solid, though, and limited Mercedes to three points of those turnovers.
Mercedes’ offense had the advantage in the first, with buckets from long range helping the Tigers end the first with a 15-11 lead.
The balance of the game swung in Pace’s favor at the beginning of the second quarter. Pace’s offense went on a 7-0 scoring run to take its first lead of the game.
The teams traded leads twice more in the second. The Vikings ended the quarter with a 24-23 lead after a 3 by Aguilar and two free throws from Munoz.
Three lead changes took place during the third quarter, and Pace had a 35-33 advantage close to the quarter’s end. But Adame made two from the charity stripe to tie the game at 35 heading into the fourth.
“We knew it was going to be a tight game all the way through,” Ramirez said. “We talked about possessions. Make this possession your best one yet. Play the possession. Don’t worry about score or the game. It’s one possession at a time. Secure the rebound. Play this possession. I think they believed that because I heard them talking about it on the bench. ‘Let’s just get this one.’ I think that’s what it takes to win a ballgame like this one. It’s one possession at a time. Nibble, nibble, nibble and hope you have enough left to go out (with a win).”
Joshua McKinney covers sports for The Brownsville Herald. You can reach him at (956) 982-6663 or via email at [email protected]. On Twitter he’s @joshuabvherald.