A.D. Ibarra
-Eagle Pass
When the Eagle Pass Eagles and the CC Winn Mavericks laced them up on Friday, both teams were coming off tough losses on Tuesday, the Eagles against a scrappy Del Rio squad and the Mavs against a formidable United Longhorns team.
What many may not have known was that Maverick point guard Cristian Paredes had suffered a freak injury last week against LBJ on the road and had not been expected to play in this highly anticipated matchup, but play he did, accounting for 29 of Winn's 56 points in a hard fought game which was witnessed by nearly 3,000 Eagle Pass basketball fans at the EPISD Sports Complex Gymnasium on Friday night.
Paredes did all he could muster with his ailing right ankle, penetrating the Eagle Pass zone defense along with teammates Martin Cazares and Chris Cantú trying to keep the Eagles at bay, but it just wasn't enough on this night as the Eagles had an overall team effort to best the Silver and Black 61-56 behind another double-double by standout post player Johnny Garza.
"Pain is temporary, pride is forever," stated Paredes after the game, "I went out there and gave it my best."
While Paredes contributed by driving into the Eagle defense, scoring leader Rogelio Roque and Adrian Jimenez were cold from the outside compounding the offensive woes for the Mavericks and it took Paredes' cross-over dribbles and overall athletic ability to create scoring opportunities with high percentage shots from the field.
The Mavericks were down by eleven early 17-6, but they managed to whittle the Eagle lead down to two by the half 37-35. A combination of three-quarter and half-court presses kept the game close and the Mavericks reeling.
"Martin and Chris had great games, offensively and on the boards," added Paredes.
Johnny Garza had 18 points, 10 rebounds and five assists. Ty Chisum had 13 points nine boards and three assists and was called upon to guard Paredes. RJ Ruiz had 10 points, nine assists and four steals.
Raul Perez, Fabian Peña and Deshawn Franklin combined for 20 points and 12 rebounds in Eagle Pass' big victory.
"We're within our goal and will continue to work hard," commented Eagle Pass Head Coach Ernesto Reyes.
The Eagles take on Laredo Alexander on Tuesday here and the Mavericks travel to Del Rio to face the Rams.