The McAllen High Bulldogs fought back from an early eight-point deficit to take down Sharyland Pioneer 56-45 in District 31-5A action on Friday at Sharyland Pioneer High School.
The Bulldogs used a 20-point third quarter to create some distance and hit some key free throws down the stretch to pick up the win over the Diamondbacks.
“We do a good job fighting back, hustling and playing hard, and that’s all you can ask for,” McHi head coach Ryan Flores said. “We won that third quarter and that was a big quarter to open up the second half.”
Mario Villegas led McHi with a game-high 21 points, six rebounds and three steals. D’Aundre Canada scored 13 of his 18 points during the second half and grabbed five rebounds. Jackson Ramirez chipped in with seven points and three assists.
“Defense is really just effort and that’s what our team has. We might not have size, we might not have all that, but we do have effort and that’s why we win games,” Canada said.
Edward Chavez and Joshua Gaither both finished with 13 points to lead Pioneer. Dustin Duty pulled down 10 boards to go with four points and two blocks. Julian Valdez added nine points and six rebounds.
Next for Pioneer (10-8, 1-1) is McAllen Memorial at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at Sharyland Pioneer High School. McHi (12-7, 1-1) moves on to face Sharyland High at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at Sharyland High School in Mission.
“I feel like this team is a lot better than last year. I feel like we’re a lot more composed, a lot more together as a unit. We have a lot of people to look to score and that’s what makes us different,” Villegas said.
