Photos: Deon Williams leads San Antonio Brennan over Weslaco in Region IV-6A Area Championship
LAREDO, Texas - Deon Williams scored 24 points to lead the San Antonio Brennan boys basketball team to a 70-40 victory over Weslaco in the Region IV-6A Area Championship on Friday night.
The Bears came in red hot after handing Laredo Alexander a 60-38 loss on Tuesday to open the Class 6A playoffs and pick up the Bi-District title.
The Bears will now face Laredo United in the regional quarterfinals after the Longhorns defeated Edinburg Vela 40-35 down the road in Zapata.
Freshmen Camden Walker poured in 13 points for the Bears - including three 3-pointers - and Kingston Flemings tallied 12 points.
After Weslaco’s Andrew Olmeda opened the game with a basket San Antonio Brennan’s Robert Jackson evened the score with a bucket down low. The teams traded baskets and Weslaco led 5-4 with 5:30 left to play in the opening quarter. That proved to be the last Panthers' lead of the game.
San Antonio Brennan controlled the paint with Jackson and Williams who elevated to grab rebounds and did a good job limiting Weslaco to one shot. Jackson was dominant down low in the first quarter, helping the Bears race out to an 18-9 lead.
Jackson got in foul trouble in the second quarter, and Williams and Adrien Napierkowski picked up the slack in the paint.
Williams really started to come alive in the second quarter, finishing with eight points in the frame to keep Weslaco at bay.
Weslaco’s Ryan Salazar drained a 3-pointer at the halftime buzzer to cut Brennan's lead to 30-21.
Weslaco opened the second half cold and that opened an opportunity for San Antonio Brennan. The Panthers only scored four points in the quarter - a pair of baskets by Leonard Smith.
Williams continued to score down low and had six of his game-high 24 points in the quarter. He repeatedly attacked the basket, and threw down a big dunk to help the Bears take a 43-25 lead heading into the fourth quarter.
San Antonio Brennan poured it on in the final quarter, outscoring Weslaco 27-15 behind Williams who finished with eight points. Camden Cowgill had eight points in the quarter, including two 3-pointers.
Olmeda kept attacking the basket for the Panthers, finishing with nine of his team-high 17 points in the final frame.
