By ARMANDO GARZA
Special to the NEWS
BROWNSVILLE— Getting wins down the stretch is a good sign for any playoff team.
And for the San Benito Greyhounds, one more win in their final two games will likely punch that postseason ticket.
The ‘Hounds erased a five-point halftime deficit with a solid third quarter as they went on the road and upended Brownsville Rivera 57-53 on Tuesday night.
San Benito (7-5 in district) outscored the Raiders 18-10 in the third period to take control of a tightly-contested game and get a much-needed win after an exhausting home setback to Harlingen South last Friday.
But it wasn’t easy.
The two teams came out virtually even on Tuesday, as the Raiders got six points from multi-sport standout Edward Rubio and another five from Joey Silva. San Benito countered with five points from Cristian Sierra, including a three, and four from Mario Aguirre.
The Raiders pulled ahead a couple more points as Chris Vasquez came alive with seven points in the quarter. Rivera made the most of its possessions while doing an admirable job keeping San Benito at bay.
Despite pressure, the ‘Hounds stayed close thanks to five points from Joey Salcedo (including a three) and Sierra hit another from downtown as well.
As has been their MO most of the year, the ‘Hounds came out on a mission after halftime.
San Benito picked up the pace and the production, Eddy Delgado caught fire and scored all six of his points while Salcedo and Aguirre each hit from beyond the arc. The ‘Hounds clamped down on Rivera and frustrated the Raiders, who only hit four field goals, two of them threes from Jesse Reyes.
However, in the fourth, the ‘Hounds went point-for-point with Rivera and the Raiders couldn’t pull any closer. San Benito was in the bonus for most of the final stanza, and clutch free-throw shooting was key to the win. Aguirre was a perfect 6-for-6 from the stripe as the ‘Hounds went 8-for-11 in the period.
The win proved critical as the ‘Hounds will now close the season at Brownsville Hanna (Feb. 13) and a home date against Los Fresnos (Feb. 17) before the playoffs begin.
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