By Brian Argabright
It was the perfect way to return to the basketball court.
The Del Rio Rams basketball team snapped a four-game losing streak and jumped right back into the heart of a district title hunt with a tough 56-53 victory over Laredo Alexander Tuesday night.
The Rams are now 6-8 overall and 1-2 in district play.
The game remained close until the third quarter. That’s when the Rams outscored the Bulldogs, 18-12, to grab a lead they defended through a tough back and forth fourth quarter.
Del Rio trailed by one point after the first quarter despite hitting three 3-pointers in the opening period. The Rams rallied to outscore the Bulldogs by one point in the second quarter, sending both teams into halftime tied at 27-27.
The third quarter turned to the Rams’ favor thanks to a pair of 3’s by Luis Arteaga and the post play of J.J. Cervantes, who worked his way to the free throw line five times in the quarter.
It was free throws that nearly undid the Rams’ work, though. Del Rio earned 26 free throw attempts, but made only 11 of them. In the fourth quarter alone, the Rams were just 5-of-14 from the charity stripe.
Cervantes led the Rams with 12 points while Arteaga and Nick Rivera each scored 11 and Will Proffit added 10. Cesar Gavia added eight points, and Eli Webster rounded out the scoring with four points.
Alexander was led by Bobby Torres’ 18 points and Adrian Orozco’s 17 points.
The San Felipe Del Rio CISD announced Wednesday that all UIL activities, including practices and competitions, would be suspended for two weeks due to precautions involving COVID-19. The earliest the Rams could return to action would be Jan. 20. Del Rio is scheduled to play at Laredo United on Jan. 22.
