‘Hounds fall to Porter in bi-district clash

By ANDREA MOSQUEDA
Special to the NEWS

Greyhound“Wow, look at the line!” exclaimed an official on his way in to the basketball playoff game between the San Benito Greyhounds and the Porter Cowboys Tuesday evening at the San Benito High School varsity gym.

At 6:40 p.m., a full 50 minutes before tip-off, the line to enter the varsity gym had already stretched out the door into the parking lot. The purple and gold faithful had arrived.

The fans were not the only ones anxious to watch the action. This is Greyhounds head basketball coach Eddie Abrego’s first trip to the playoffs in his three seasons coaching and was pumped and ready for the game to begin. “Playing at home really helps the boys,” said Abrego. “They’ve been working hard, and they’re excited. They’re ready for this.”

San Benito sank the first shot at 7:02, but Porter proved to be a worthy adversary and utilized a strong offense to quickly take the lead and keep it. The rebound of a missed three-point shot brought the Porter lead to 7, causing San Benito to call a quick timeout and regroup. As the game went on, however, an injury that took Greyhound Christian Sierra, #3, out of the game but seemed to serve as motivation for San Benito. The ‘Hounds slowed down the Porter offense with a tenacious defense, but the Cowboys were still in the lead when the first quarter ended with a score of 20-6.

The second quarter saw the Cowboys hit the foul line often, and by 2:50 Porter had obtained a 20-point lead, the biggest of the night. The Hounds fought them every inch of the way, but by the end of the second quarter the Cowboys had not relinquished their lead.

In the third quarter, the Hounds’ famous man-to-man defense resulted in a number of scuffles as the Cowboys fought for points. Porter came up short, however, gaining only five points in this quarter to the Hounds’ 13, many of which were scored by Mathew Perez, #44. A beautiful series of exchanges and an impressive three-pointer by Jason Lopez, #34, successfully shortened the Porter lead to 13 just as the quarter ended, bringing ‘Hounds fans to their feet.

In the final quarter, tempers flared and elbows flew, resulting in several short, impromptu cheering contests between the fans of both teams. They ‘Hounds played well, anticipating each other’s moves as they gave the defense their all. While the ‘Hounds ducked and dove for every last point, and though Porter never relinquished its lead, San Benito continued to fight valiantly as the game ended in the Cowboys’ favor, 69-51.

Permanent link to this article: https://www.sbnewspaper.com/2013/02/20/hounds-fall-to-porter-in-bi-district-clash/

3 comments

  1. We’re going to miss watching Matthew Perez and Jason Lopez play. The whole team was great, but those two were just phenomanal to watch under pressure. And to watch them exchange their smiles made you feel these two were good freinds and in it to have fun in their senior year. Good Luck in your future boys.Continue to make us your fans in San Benito proud!!!

    • M.L. on February 21, 2013 at 9:50 am
    • Reply

    Thanks guys…it was a great season…good luck to the Seniors!
    Looking forward to next season…

    • WeThePeople on February 20, 2013 at 11:44 pm
    • Reply

    A great year, guys, with a lot of heart!

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