By ADAM KUJAWSKI, Staff Writer
The Pace Vikings were just waiting to find their groove against Edinburg Economedes on Tuesday night.
That moment came during a 26-point third quarter, propelling the Vikings to a 70-53 home win over the Jaguars.
“Our offense was on,” Pace coach Jose Luis Ramirez said. “Once you’re on like that, (the team doesn’t) want it to end so they just kept firing away.”
The Vikings had a comfortable 26-18 lead at halftime but doubled their point output during the third quarter to take a 52-35 lead.
Pace came out shooting during the second half, making four of its first six baskets to set the tone.
The Jaguars nearly matched their entire first-half point total with 17 points during the third but failed to keep up with the hot Vikings offense.
A.J. Medrano led the quarter with 11 points, and Andres Salgado added nine. Pace sank 11 of 19 baskets during that stretch, pulling far enough ahead to outlast an Economedes comeback attempt.
“Defensively, it was a little bit of a struggle,” Economedes coach Jaime Olivarez said, “but actually our offense picked up at the end. At least we were more active than we were for the first three quarters.
“Take nothing away from Pace, they shot the ball well today, they hit their 3s and took a big lead, but we just ran out of gas there toward the end and made some silly mistakes.”
The Jaguars pulled to within nine points with two minutes remaining, but Pace took advantage of Economedes’ aggressive play with a handful of steals that were converted to baskets down the stretch.
“We were able to finish strong, and that’s the biggest thing for me,” Ramirez said. “It’s tough to play with the lead, and even though (Economedes) had a run, we were able to settle down and go to work.”
It took a quarter for the Vikings to warm up before pulling away. They were ahead by a one-point margin after the first quarter but outscored the Jaguars 14-7 the remainder of the half.
Economedes failed to capitalize on a five-minute cold streak by Pace between the first and second quarters. During that stretch, the Vikings shot 0 for 11.
The Vikings eventually turned around their drought and carried their momentum into the second half.
“I’m proud of the guys, the way they fought,” Olivarez said. “They could’ve shut it down when they were down by 24, but they fought back and cut it down to nine.
“It’s early in the season and we’ve got to learn how to fight, and they showed me that they can do that tonight.”
The Jaguars had the game’s two leading scorers. Julian Abrego had 21 points, and teammate Roy Miranda added 15. Pace spread the ball around more. Medrano had 14 points for the Vikings, and Alex Acosta, Steven Garza and Salgado each had 13.
Pace next will play host to Harlingen High, and Economedes will play host to Harlingen South. Both games are at 7:30 p.m. Dec. 2.
Adam Kujawski covers sports for The Brownsville Herald. You can reach him at (956) 982-6663 or via email at [email protected]. On Twitter he’s @adamkujo1.