Local Sports » HS Basketball

Subscribe

West season ends against Laredo Nixon in playoffs

Victoria West's 4A area playoff game versus Laredo Nixon. The Warriors lost 82-62.
  • BY TAYLOR MITCHELL - TMITCHELL@VICAD.COM
  • Originally published February 22, 2013 at 9:54 p.m., updated February 23, 2013 at 12:56 a.m.

SAN ANTONIO - The same issues that plagued Victoria West against Medina Valley in last Tuesday's bi-district playoff game showed back up against Laredo Nixon.

Only this time, the Warriors couldn't overcome their struggles, losing 82-62 in Friday night's Class 4A area round playoff game at South San.

"It's hard losing like this," senior Darien Henry said. "We played a good team, and they played like it. We can't take anything away from those guys."

The Mustangs (32-5) ran a trap defense from the opening tipoff, forcing the Warriors into 15 turnovers, including nine in the first half.

"They were a lot faster than Medina Valley," Henry said.

The Warriors (19-13) grabbed a slim 4-3 lead in the first minute and a half of play, but Laredo Nixon's stiff defense held the Warriors to just six points the rest of the quarter.

With a 19-10 lead to start the second quarter, the Mustangs went on a 9-1 run to build a double-digit lead that West would never break.

"They were making their shots, and they were falling in," senior James Murphy said. "Sometimes you just can't stop that."

Laredo Nixon held a 10-point lead at halftime but blew the 4A area playoff game wide open in the third quarter, outscoring the Warriors 33-18. The Mustangs made four 3-pointers in the third quarter to help build their lead.

"Coach always says the first three minutes of the third quarter is what determines the outcome," Murphy said. "They took over then. That's what killed us. We could've came back, but they didn't let that happen."

"When you're unable to stop the drive and kick, which we talked about, it's tough to stop anybody," Warriors head coach Pat Erskine said. "I don't know how many they missed in that quarter, but it sure seemed like they made a lot of their shots."

Senior Akeem Greene and freshman Ruben Trevino led West in scoring with 13 points each. Senior Darien Henry finished the night with 12 points, and Murphy had 10.

The Mustangs had four players score 10 or more points, with Gabriel Rodriguez leading the way with 18 points. Seniors Rolando Bustamante and Carlos Hughes each had 16 points for Laredo Nixon, and Ricky Arana had 10.

West's most successful quarter on offense came in the fourth, when the Warriors outscored Laredo 22-17. However, it wouldn't be nearly enough to overcome a 25-point deficit.

"We're sad it ended this way, especially for our seniors," Erskine said. "They made strides this year and set a precedent for teams to come."