(Mission, Texas)-In the Blue Diamond Realty Group Game of the Week, “This was the win we were looking for tonight,” said a fist-clinching McAllen Nikki Rowe Warriors head basketball coach, Jose Yerba. “This win keeps us in the playoff hunt.”
On Friday night, it was all defense for both teams as Sharyland Pioneer struggled to put points on the board as the Diamondbacks lost it’s first District 31-5A game, 43-36. With the loss, the D’Backs dropped to 17-11, 8-1 in district play, tied with Edinburg Vela. The Nikki Rowe (14-13, 7-3) Warriors are now, one-game behind third place McAllen Memorial and will meet PSJA Memorial next Tuesday night while Pioneer will play at PSJA North. “After that loss to McAllen, getting this win was worth it. We played a good team tonight,” added Yerba.
After being knocked off by McHi, Rowe was a much better team on Friday night as they forced the D’Backs to turnovers in the first period to take a 9-5 lead after Warriors forward Raul Bejarano was fouled going to the basket. He would convert the bonus shot to make it 10-5. The Warriors kept the pressure on as another turnover turned into a shot from downtown by Marcos Cisneros to put the Warriors up 13-5. Pioneer was forced to call timeout. Yerba put his arms up, looking for high-fives from his squad. “Let’s go, let’s go,” Yerba told his team. “Stay focused and we have to control the boards.” Bejarano nailed a three-pointer from the baseline to put the Warriors up 22-18 at half.
In the fourth period, the Warriors held on to a slim three-point advantage 29-26 but with pressure, the Diamondbacks continued to struggle from the field.
Pioneer Matthew Maldonado double-dribbled and that turnover led to more points by the Warriors as they increased the lead 33-26 with 4:59 left to play. Still, Maldonado tried to rally with a three-pointer, but that attempt bounced off the rim. Teammate Jaden Garcia was under the boards for the rebound to make it 33-28.
The Diamondbacks pressured Rowe with Julian Valdez making a steal and he would find Josh Gaither for a much-needed three-pointer to narrow the Warriors lead 35-31 with 3:03 left to play. Pioneer’s Valdez would hit another three-pointer to trail 36-41 with :54 left to play. Final score was 43-36.
