CORPUS CHRISTI — Los Fresnos coach Marco Hinojosa knew his Falcons had no easy task, taking on the San Antonio O’Connor Panthers in the area round of the Class 6A playoffs.
O’Connor (20-3) is ranked No. 16 by the Texas Association of Basketball Coaches and a consistent playoff team. After a slow start, the Falcons battled well against the Panthers, but a big fourth quarter clinched a 70-49 win for O’Connor.
“That’s a regional team, possibly Elite Eight or Final Four. They’re just very good,” Hinojosa said. “The guys competed, and that’s all we can ask for. They didn’t give up. We had a slow start, probably jitters, but after that it was good basketball. At the end of the day, I’m proud of my guys.”
Los Fresnos looked overwhelmed during the opening minutes as 6-foot-5 O’Connor senior Adam Benhayoune got off to a hot start. He recorded a block and several defensive rebounds, then showed his range by scoring inside and from behind the arc to put the Panthers on top 9-0.
The Falcons struggled to find a lane and forced some shots early, staying off the scoreboard until the 2:10 mark in the first quarter. Junior Keane Ogao came off the bench and knocked down a 3-pointer, which gave Los Fresnos some life. The defensive effort improved and forced some misses by O’Connor, but the Falcons’ shooting woes continued, leading to a 14-3 advantage for the Panthers.
Alex Moreno and Roger Capetillo kept Los Fresnos pushing during the second and cut into the lead. Moreno spearheaded a defense that forced an uptick in travels and turnovers committed by O’Connor as the first half rolled on. Ogao ignited a strong stretch from Los Fresnos with another 3-pointer off the bench, and that was followed by a JJ Salazar block and Moreno drawing a charge to give the Falcons and their crowd life.
Trailing 27-17 at halftime, Hinojosa told the Falcons to be more aggressive during the second half. Los Fresnos responded, and its consistent defensive pressure paired with Darius Garcia and Capetillo beating the Panthers on the boards got the Falcons back in the game. Garcia drained a 3-pointer, and then Gerry Martinez turned a steal into points to cut the deficit to 27-24 midway through the third.
The Panthers answered with some 3-pointers and a well-executed offense that moved the ball around and created scoring opportunities down low. Benhayoune, Evan Whaling, Justin Adam and Isaac Orozco opened O’Connor’s lead to 40-28 heading to the fourth.
“I thought we took some bad shots and settled sometimes, and all of a sudden we started being more aggressive and it paid dividends,” Hinojosa said. “But then (O’Connor) adjusted, and basketball’s a game of runs and they went on their own. They outrebounded us today, and they shot lights-out from the 3.”
Capetillo, Moreno, Martinez and Dayton Noriega continued to battle and had good moments on both ends of the court during the fourth. But Los Fresnos was plagued by shooting struggles throughout the contest and often saw shots bounce off the rim.
O’Connor had its best offensive production during the final eight minutes. The Panthers hit six of their 12 3-pointers in the fourth quarter to break away and secure their spot in the regional quarterfinal round. Benhayoune was the night’s top scorer with 23 points and four 3s. Orozco scored 12 points, Whaling added 10 and Jalon Munoz had nine, all from behind the arc.
Moreno, Martinez and Capetillo each scored nine points to pace Los Fresnos. Moreno and Noriega, the only two seniors on the squad, were the top contributors defensively. Hinojosa called the game a good test for his young team, and he’s looking forward to seeing what the group does next season.
“We’ve had (Moreno and Noriega) since their freshman year. We called them projects, and they came a long way,” Hinojosa said. “They both ended up starting for us this year and logging in big minutes. Humble kids, great kids that did so much for the program and had great attitudes, and they will be missed. … Our goal is to come back to this area game and win it, that’s our goal already as of right now. We know what we need to do to get there next season.”
