By Brian Argabright
The 830 Times
Del Rio gave Laredo Nixon all it could handle but just ran out of time in their first meeting this year Tuesday.
Down for most of the game, the Rams took the Nixon Mustangs to overtime but came out on the wrong end of a 74-69 final. The loss was the Rams’ first in district play.
Foul trouble hit the Rams early on as J.J. Cervantes drew two fouls in the first quarter and limited his play for the rest of the first half. His teammates stepped up in his absence, though, as Del Rio harangued Nixon’s dribblers and used teamwork to turn turnovers into easy baskets.
Will Proffit came away with a steal and turned it into an uncontested layup. Nick Rivera was able to drive to the basketball almost at will, but as the Nixon defenders converged he passed the ball off to Cervantes, before, his foul trouble, for an easy basket.
When Cervantes exited, Jorge Rubio and Joe Villarreal came on to lend their support. Rubio battled for rebounds and Villarreal had a block late in the first quarter to keep the Rams close as they trailed 17-11 after the first quarter.
Del Rio whittled away at the Nixon lead in the second quarter and eventually took the lead 26-25. Again, it was Del Rio’s attacking of the basket that led to the scoring chances for the Rams.
Alessandro Elizondo cut his way to the basket for a tough shot that was off, but Rivera came in and cleaned it up with a put-back bucket. Elizondo then paid it back when he found Proffit for a 3-pointer.
Del Rio’s lead didn’t last long as Nixon’s Jan Tovar scored and was fouled. He converted the three-point play and put Nixon back on top, 28-26, but then Del Rio’s Joel Dominguez scored to tie the game at 28-28.
Once again, Nixon had the answer as Tovar and Luis Anaya converted back-to-back scoring opportunities to put the Mustangs in front by four. By halftime, the Nixon lead had been cut to 34-30.
The game was physical throughout, bringing complaints and concerns from coaches from both teams. Elizondo was rocked by an elbow to the jaw as he playing defense, and later Tovar landed hard on his back after his legs were clipped by a Del Rio defender who had been knocked to the court. Neither play drew a foul call and set the tone for the game.
But despite the lack of fouls called, both teams had players in foul trouble. Tovar picked up his fourth foul in the third quarter and would set on the bench until 6:38 left in the fourth quarter. Cervantes and Rubio each had four fouls late and that kept them from being more aggressive on defense.
Del Rio was able to reclaim the lead in the third quarter on a 3-pointer by Elizondo off an assist from Dominguez. Nixon took the lead back, but then Proffit found Elizondo for another basket and a 41-40 Rams lead.
It was back-and-forth for much of the third quarter. Nixon would score, and then Rivera scored to put the Rams back on top.
Adrien Medillin hit a 3-pointer to once again put Nixon ahead, 45-43. That was the start of a 7-0 run that carried the Mustangs to a 51-43 lead before Elizondo hit a basket to make it 51-45 at the end of the third quarter.
With Tovar sitting, the Rams began chipping away at Nixon’s lead. Down 52-50, Proffit hit his third 3-pointer of the game to push the Rams back into the lead, 53-52.
Once again, the two teams exchanged baskets like boxers exchanging big punches looking for a knockout.
With a minute left to play in regulation, Proffit sank a pair of free throws to give Del Rio a 59-58 lead. Rivera was fouled on a drive a few seconds later, but he would make only one of two free throws to give the Rams a 60-58 lead.
Nixon called a timeout with 15 seconds left and drew up a play. The ball wound up in Medellin’s hands and he drove straight to the basket, scoring an uncontested layup with three seconds left to play.
The Rams were unable to get a good shot off and the teams went to overtime.
Del Rio played the extra frame without Cervantes, who fouled out with 6:37 left in the fourth quarter. The Rams would also lose Rubio, who fouled out with 3:21 left in overtime.
Nixon took an early lead in overtime, but the Rams clawed their way back, eventually tying the game at 64-64 on a Rivera basket. Nixon reclaimed the lead on its next possession as Jose Escobar used a beautiful assist from Tovar to score and put the Mustangs ahead for good.
Proffit hit a late 3-pointer, but Del Rio couldn’t complete the comeback, falling by five.
Rivera finished with 21 points to lead Del Rio. Proffit had 18 points and Elizondo had 16 points. Dominguez had seven points, Rubio had five points and Cervantes had two points.
Nixon’s Tovar had 27 points to lead all scorers. Medellin finished with 16, and Escobar added 12.
The Rams were scheduled to travel to Laredo Friday to face Laredo Alexander, but that game has tentatively been rescheduled to Monday, Jan. 17, due to positive COVID tests on the Alexander team.
Del Rio’s next home game will be Tuesday, Jan. 11, when they host the Laredo United South Panthers at 7 p.m. at the Carl P. Guys Memorial Gymnasium.
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Contact the author at drnhsports@gmail.com
