By Brian Argabright
The 830 Times
Del Rio has made it to the final day of the West Texas Shootout, but it was a wild ride.
The Rams went 2-2 in the tournament’s first two days.
Game one pitted the Rams against Midessa. Del Rio took the lead in the first quarter and opened it to double digits by halftime before pulling away for a 79-54 win.
Nick Rivera led the team with 16 points and was one five Rams to score in double digits. J.J. Cervantez had 14 points, and Alessandro Elizondo, Will Proffit and Alan Dobbins each had 10 points. Corbin Farrar, who joined the Rams just prior to the tournament, scored nine points in his first varsity game. Joel Dominguez had six points, Jairo Venegas had two points, and Manuel Rodriguez had one point.
Del Rio’s second game found them matched up against Kermit.
A stifling Rams defense held Kermit to eight points in the first quarter. Kermit bounced back in the second quarter, scoring 21 points, but by then Del Rio had already put 45 points on the board and led by 16 at halftime.
The Rams put the clamps back on Kermit in the second half, holding them to 13 total points as Del Rio picked up an 83-42 decision.
Proffit led Del Rio’s scorers with 16 points. Rivera had 15, Elizondo had 12, Cervantez and Dobbins each had nine points, Joe Villarreal had eight points, Dominguez had five points, Farrar and Jorge Rubio each had four points, and Damian Espinoza had three points.
Friday morning Del Rio faced off against Lubbock Estacado.
The game was close early on, but when Estacado used a 13-3 run in the first quarter to turn a one-point lead into an 11-point lead Del Rio found itself in a hole they were never able to get out of.
Lubbock scored 31 points in the first quarter and 23 in the second quarter to grab a 54-34 lead over the Rams by halftime. Estacado outscored Del Rio 47-29 in the second half to take the win, 101-63.
Cervantez led Del Rio with 25 points with nine of those coming from the free throw line as Estacado did most of their damage inside the paint where Cervantez lurks. Rivera had 16 points, Proffit had 10, Elizondo had six, Dominguez had three, Farrar had two and Rubio added one.
Del Rio’s final game on Friday saw them square off against Pebble Hills.
Much like the Estacado game, Del Rio started slowly and never recovered. The Rams were down eight after one and 14 by halftime after a six-point second quarter.
Pebble Hills won what was a low-scoring affair, 61-38.
No Ram scored in double digits. Cervantez had eight points to lead the team in scoring. Rivera finished with seven points, Dominguez had six points, Farrar and Rubio each had four points, Elizondo had three points, and Espinoza, Proffit and Dobbins each had two points.
Del Rio will face Estacado in a rematch Saturday at 11:30 a.m. Estacado was the number one seed after round robin play, finishing 4-0. The Rams wound up the fourth seed at 2-2.
If the Rams win, they’ll play in the championship game at 4 p.m. If the Rams lose, they’ll play at 2:30 p.m. against the loser of the Pebble Hills/Presidio game at 10 a.m.
Fans can watch the game on YouTube. Search for “Panther FS” and the games are livestreamed there.
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Contact the author at drnhsports@gmail.com
