By MATT YOUNG | SPECIAL TO THE MONITOR
KINGSVILLE — In six months, Aaron Dilworth will be performing on the Texas A&M-Kingsville football field as a member of the Javelinas. On Saturday, the Flour Bluff senior put on a little show on the A&M-Kingsville basketball court.
Dilworth scored a game-high 15 points, including nine in a key third quarter, to lead No. 25 Flour Bluff past No. 17 Sharyland High 61-43 at Steinke Physical Education. Flour Bluff (26-6) advances to play Laredo Nixon (26-9) in the region quarterfinals Tuesday.
A familiarity with Sharyland through scouting proved key for the Hornets on Saturday.
Flour Bluff’s offense generally centers around the inside game of 6-foot-9 Tyler Barlow and 6-6 Cody Brewer, but the Hornets opted to take advantage of a mismatch Dilworth had against the Sharyland guards.
“It was our plan all week to pressure their guards, and we told Aaron to take advantage of his matchup,” said Flour Bluff assistant coach Korey Hardeman, who spoke to the media postgame as head coach Robert Dodd nailed down details for the next playoff matchup. “We felt with Aaron’s athleticism, he had a clear advantage against the man guarding him. That third quarter was just AD being AD, and he took over.”
The Hornets already had a 29-21 advantage at halftime before unleashing Dilworth. The 6-3 guard, who could play wide receiver or defensive back for the Javelinas, opened the third quarter with a 3-pointer. He later drove to the basket a couple times only to get fouled at the rim and knock down his free throws.
Flour Bluff ended the quarter with a flurry. Joe Harrel threw an alley-oop to Barlow, who finished with a thundering dunk. On the other end, Cody Brewer rejected a shot all the way out to the 3-point line, and Dilworth went coast-to-coast for a dunk at the buzzer that put the Hornets up 50-36.
Also in the quarter, Dilworth had a couple no-look passes off his drives to the basket and a move where he went behind his back on his way to the rim that brought the Flour Bluff bench and the crowd to its feet.
“I try to get the crowd involved when I can,” Dilworth said. “We have some of the best fans, so it’s good to give them something to cheer about.”
In the fourth quarter, the Hornets stretched the lead to as much as 21 points as Flour Bluff coasted to a surprisingly easy win in a battle of two state-ranked teams.
The game was supposed to be a battle of the teams’ two big men. Sharyland boasts a front line of 6-5 Patrick de la Torre and 6-7 Jose de la Garza, who average 20.2 points and 13.6 points, respectively. Bluff’s front line of Barlow and Brewer limited de la Torre to 14 points and de la Garza to nine.
“We knew we were going to have to deal with Sharyland’s two big guys,” Hardeman said. “They’re big and use their size effectively, but we feel like Tyler and Cody are the two best big men in Region IV and they showed that tonight.”