By EDWARD SEVERN, Staff Writer
BROWNSVILLE – The Brownsville Pace Vikings defeated the McAllen Rowe Warriors 80-62 to advance to the area round of the playoffs.
It did not look like it was going to be a good night for the Vikings during the second quarter. The Warriors built a double-digit lead, and everything they touched was gold. Rowe forward Elijah Alcantar, forward Emiliano Ramirez and guard Julian Avila were a handful for Pace early.
“My players played very hard today,” Rowe coach Jose Luis Yebra said. “They showed that they have some passion for it, but Pace is pretty good.”
With a couple of minutes left in the first half, the Vikings sprang to life. Seniors Elias Fortaneli, Cristian Guajardo, Alex Agado and Dax Delgado led Pace on a run that gave the team momentum.
“It is that start that you do not want to have,” Guajardo said. “We had to refocus and get back into the winning mentality.”
Pace went into the break only down 38-32.
“I told them this is a do-or-die game,” Pace coach Jose Ramirez said. “You do not get tomorrow. We only play for today. Like I said before, this is the playoffs. I need you to man up.”
It was then the Vikings’ turn to not miss a shot. Pace was on fire and built its own double-digit lead during the third quarter.
Delgado was money from midrange, Agado’s 3-pointers were timely, and Guajardo and Fortaneli did a bit of everything as Pace stormed out in front.
Guajardo sent the crowd into a frenzy after a sequence of crossovers into a spin provided space to drop a no-look dime to Fortaneli to give the Vikings a 68-50 lead.
“We had a good lead but turned the ball over too many times,” Yebra said. “I am proud of my guys for fighting how they should. Good luck to (the Vikings), they are a good team.”
Guajardo finished with a game-high 27 points. Fortaneli and Delgado dropped 16 points each, and Agado scored 12 points from beyond the arc.
Pace will face either Roma or Corpus Christi Flour Bluff in the area round.