Falcons methodical in win over Raiders

LOS FRESNOS — Slow, methodical, defensive, drawn-out.

Whatever label you want to throw at the Los Fresnos Falcons, they'll take. They don't care. They keep finding ways to win.

The Falcons once again piecemealed their way through a game with a 45-32 victory over the Brownsville Rivera Raiders on Tuesday in a key District 32-5A contest.

Los Fresnos' win, its second this season over Rivera, gave it what essentially amounts to a two-game lead over the Raiders for the fourth and final playoff spot. The Falcons are 13-15, 6-4 in District 32-5A, while the Raiders are 8-17, 5-5 in district. San Benito, Brownsville Lopez and Brownsville Pace lag further behind.

Not a bad place to be in with four games to go.

“That's what we told the kids,” Los Fresnos coach Shawn Jones said. “We have to come out and win basketball games.”

The Falcons were in control for most of the game, but led by just four early in the fourth quarter. They gave the Raiders two chances to score to cut it to one possession, but both times the visitors did not find the bottom of the net.

An 8-0 run later, and it was a 12-point game. That did the trick.

“Now it's time to answer,” Jones recalled saying to his team. “They answered that run and looked poised and controlled.”

Rivera was down by one after the first quarter and by three at halftime. It trailed by as many as eight during the third before cutting it to six by the end of the frame. That set up the final quarter, where they had those chances to make it interesting, but just couldn't execute on this night.

“We just didn't shoot the ball well,” Rivera coach Saul Villarreal said. “Nothing was going in.”

For a team without a lot of size, that more or less did them in.

Now well behind the 8-ball and needing to win out and get some help, the Raiders are simply looking at Friday and a home date with Weslaco High.

The rest will take care of itself.

“Just trying to keep winning,” Villarreal said. “Wait to see what happens.”

The same goes for Los Fresnos. Though, it doesn't really need to scoreboard watch.

“It's very important that we go in there (to Brownsville Pace) focused,” Jones said. “Just got to keep looking forward.”

David Garza had 21 points to lead Los Fresnos. Akeem Simien added 11. Juan Ortiz had 16 to pace Rivera.

Todd Orodenker covers sports for The Brownsville Herald. You can reach him at (956) 982-6663 or via e-mail at torodenker@brownsvilleherald.com. Follow him on Twitter @ToddO243.