Photos: Jaden Muhammad, Arian Elizondo lead McAllen Memorial to win over rival McAllen Nikki Rowe
MCALLEN, Texas - Jaden Muhammad and Arian Elizondo scored a game-high 21 points each to help McAllen Memorial soundly beat rival McAllen Nikki Rowe 86-45 on Friday night.
Allex Hougro added 19 points for the Mustangs, who continue to march closer to another district title.
“We came out very fired up and we came out intense at both ends,” McAllen Memorial head coach Rick Trevino said. “I thought (Nikki) Rowe played us well early on, I think they just had trouble finding the bottom of the net. They did not shoot very well, and they did not shoot very well on free throws. I think we had something to do with it. We were very focused and come out for this one, and it showed at the very end.”
The Mustangs (24-12, 12-1) utilized a combination of speed and uncanny court vision to jump out to an early lead. McAllen Memorial controlled the boards and limited McAllen Nikki Rowe to one shot on offense.
Muhammad and Elizondo attacked the basket relentlessly on offense and took advantage of transition opportunities to help the Mustangs build an early lead.
“We know that they have a lot of size, so our game plan was definitely to get out and run the floor and use our speed,” Trevino said. “They just did a great job.”
Early on, McAllen Nikki Rowe was able to stay on pace, but at the end, the speed was too much for the Warriors.
The Mustangs displayed a balanced offense that featured five players contributing in the opening quarter. Elizondo led the way with six points in the first quarter while Hougro added five and the Muhammad twins had two baskets, helping McAllen Memorial jump out to a 21-13 edge.
Nikki Rowe (16-15, 7-7) opened the second quarter with a free throw by Elijah Alcantar to cut McAllen Memorial’s led to seven points - and that marked the last time the lead was single digits. The Mustangs went on a 16-2 run behind Elizondo and Jaden Muhammad who combined for 13 points in the quarter.
The Warriors went scoreless for five minutes until Emiliano Ramirez hit a field goal with 50 seconds left in the half. By that point McAllen Memorial held a commanding 37-16 edge and the rout was on.
McAllen Memorial did not skip a beat in the second half. They came out firing from all corners and played their best offensive quarter, dropping 37 points while holding Nikki Rowe to 10 points.
Hougro scored 13 of his 18 points in the third quarter while Jaden Muhammad added 11 and Elizondo had nine to help McAllen Memorial build their biggest lead at 42 points heading into the fourth quarter.
With the game well in hand, the starting core rested the fourth quarter as the reserve players saw plenty of action.
McAllen Memorial plays Sharyland Pioneer on Tuesday as the Mustangs are one game ahead of McAllen and must beat the Diamondbacks to claim the District 31-5A title.
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