Mustangs gallop past Vikings, advance to area round

2 months ago 53

BROWNSVILLE — The McAllen Memorial Mustangs opened the playoffs with a complete performance in a 62-43 victory over Brownsville Pace in their Region IV-5A bi-district matchup Tuesday at Brownsville Pace High School.

“I thought the effort was pretty strong and we followed the game plan pretty well,” McAllen Memorial head coach Rick Treviño said.

Memorial senior forward Danny Canul played in his first playoff game in nearly two years after transferring from McAllen High and sitting out his junior season due to UIL rules. He showed no signs of postseason rust as he led all scorers with 22 points and four rebounds.

“It felt good to be back after sitting out last year,” Canul said. “We knew we had a target on our back. It’s a big year for us, so we just came out and played hard. We knew whoever came out with more intensity was going to win. We just trusted everybody, trusted in our teammates and we did our thing.”

Pace’s defense focused on collapsing on Memorial big-man Caden Keller down low early which created opportunities on the perimeter for the Mustangs. They made the most of their opportunities as Mando Treviño had an all-around game with 16 points, seven rebounds, seven assists and three steals.

Rudy Treviño scored eight points and Alex Monroy impacted the game with hustle plays on both ends of the floor to finish with five points, seven rebounds, four steals and one block. Keller had a big second half and finished with nine points and six boards.

“We knew they had a tough press and a tough zone, but we moved the ball around, knew who to get the ball to, knew how to shift the defense and we executed,” Mando Treviño said.

Brownsville Pace post James Quinonez led the Vikings with a 17-point, 10-rebound double-double. He would not be denied inside as he was the Vikings’ main source of offense. Guard Ricky Tijerina hit three big 3-pointers during the second half to cut Memorial’s lead to single digits, but it wasn’t enough to get over the hump.