McALLEN — The 2019 City of Palms Boys Basketball Tournament tipped off Thursday and the host team McAllen Rowe Warriors opened up with a 91-48 statement victory over San Benito at McAllen Rowe High School.
With eight games Thursday, eight more today and 16 slated for the final day of the tournament Saturday, it was important for Rowe head coach Jose Luis Yebra’s team to start off on the right track.
“I was very pleased with the way they came out and played, just loose and they were moving the ball well,” Yebra said. “We shot the ball well and we got contributions from everybody. I’ve been wanting everybody to play with confidence and I think they did that today. We just have to continue to play that way. We have a lot of young kids that are coming in and helping out, so I was pleased with their performance.”
The Warriors roared out to a 24-7 advantage on San Benito after the first quarter and never looked back. Rowe forward Darrin Everage led all scorers with a game-high 23 points, while Louie Yebra added 20 points. Ten different Warriors scored on the night. San Benito’s Jeremy Sauceda led the Greyhounds with 15.
The win sends Rowe into the Elite 8 of the championship bracket, which will be held at 9 a.m. today at Rowe. The other teams to move onto the second round of the championship bracket along with the Warriors are Brownsville Pace, Brownsville Rivera, Donna High, Edinburg Economedes, Los Fresnos, McAllen High and Sharyland Pioneer.
The championship game of the tournament has the potential to deliver a matchup between the Warriors and either the Falcons or Diamondbacks, who are on the opposite side of the championship bracket.
First, however, Rowe must play Edinburg Economedes at 6 p.m. today at Rowe.
Los Fresnos will take on District 32-6A opponent Brownsville Rivera at 10:30 a.m., while Sharyland Pioneer has a second-round matchup against Donna on tap at 1:30 p.m.
“We always try to look for good teams that want to come and join the tournament and it really gets us ready for district,” coach Yebra said. “I’m looking forward to see whoever we play. I hope that we continue to play well and, and hopefully we can meet some of those good teams later on in rounds here in the tournament. I think those teams are very good, and so tomorrow we face another pretty good team in Edinburg Economedes, so we’ll figure out how things are going to work out.”
Scores and schedule from the 2019 City of Palms Tournament can be found below.
City of Palms Tournament
At McAllen Rowe High School
Donna High 57, La Feria 32
Los Fresnos 73, Grulla 37
Brownsville Rivera 47, La Joya High 38
Edinburg Economedes 66, La Joya Juarez-Lincoln 47
Brownsville Pace 71, Donna North 32
Sharyland Pioneer 68, McAllen Rowe JV 44
McAllen Rowe 91, San Benito 48
McAllen High 71, Universidad Regiomontana 39
Friday’s Games
Tournaments
City of Palms Tournament
At McAllen Rowe High School
La Joya High vs. Grulla, 9 a.m.
Los Fresnos vs. Brownsville Rivera, 10:30 a.m.
La Feria vs. McAllen Rowe JV, noon
Sharyland Pioneer vs Donna High, 1:30 p.m.
La Joya Juarez-Lincoln vs. San Benito, 3 p.m.
Donna North vs. Universidad Regiomontana, 4:30 p.m.
McAllen Rowe vs. Edinburg Economedes, 6 p.m.
McAllen High vs. Brownsville Pace, 6 p.m.
Saturday’s Games
Tournaments
City of Palms Tournament
At McAllen Rowe High School
Semi-finals: Team TBD vs. Team TBD, noon
Semi-finals: Team TBD vs. Team TBD, 1:30 p.m.
Consolation championship game: Team TBD vs. Team TBD, 4:30 p.m.
Third-place game: Team TBD vs. Team TBD, 6 p.m.
Championship game: Team TBD vs. Team TBD, 7:30 p.m.