Two missed free throws by San Antonio East Central with 19 seconds left gave Alexander a chance at tying the postseason opener on the following possession.
A turnover in the lane ended those chances.
The Bulldogs fell 63-59 to the Hornets in the bi-district round of the 6A Division I boys basketball playoffs at Dilley High School on Feb. 18.
“Some things didn’t go our way,” Alexander coach Luis Valdez said. “It happens.”
The season ends for Alexander at 28-6. It was ranked 22nd in Class 6A by the Texas Association of Basketball Coaches.
East Central, now 22-13, moves on to the area round to face Los Fresnos.
“This is the one no one wanted to play. No one wanted to play Laredo Alexander because they know it’s a great coach and a great team,” Hornets coach James Rabon said. “They’re going to play everything perfectly. I know it’s a great organization, so it wasn’t one we were looking forward to.”
Alexander’s second-half comeback falls short
Down 31-27 at halftime, the Bulldogs would eventually tie it 40-40 with just over two minutes left in the third quarter after back-to-back scores at the rim by Robert Eads. A pair of free throws by Emilio Garcia had Alexander up 42-40, but East Central battled back to take a 45-44 lead.
On the first possession of the fourth quarter, Eads again scored in the paint to put Alexander up 46-45. It would be the Bulldogs’ last time with the lead.
East Central consistently held a two-possession lead throughout the fourth quarter, despite Alexander not backing down. A 3-pointer by Mateo Serna made it 57-52 and just over a minute later, an and-one layup by Garcia had Alexander down 59-55.
Garcia made four free throws in the final minute, eventually putting the Bulldogs down just 62-59 with 19 seconds left. Two missed free throws by East Central gave Alexander life, but a turnover on the following possession ended that momentum and clinched the 63-59 victory for the Hornets.
Ball bounces East Central’s way
The breaks in the game weren’t kind to Alexander, which shot 19 of 49 from the field and committed 17 turnovers.
East Central shot 21 of 67 with 10 turnovers, but the 18 extra field goal attempts didn’t go unnoticed. The Hornets scored 18 second-chance points.
“Their physicality hurt us,” Valdez said. “We tried. We practiced blocking out every day, twice a day in the morning and afternoon. But when you have these tougher athletes, every missed opportunity turns into a second chance, and we lost by four. That makes a big difference.”
Garcia scored a game-high 26 points, which included eight points in the fourth quarter. He scored nine points in the first quarter to give Alexander a 19-11 lead.
Eads added 10 points, eight of which came in the second half.
Playoff loss was final game for Valdez
The emotions were all over the place for Valdez. After 23 seasons and over 600 career wins at Alexander, Valdez is retiring.
“I told the kids that my last game would be a loss,” he said. “I knew it because if not, that would mean we won the state title. That is super hard to win. I knew going into the playoff game that it could be my last. I’m also happy because I know the kids gave everything they had. They never gave up.
“Athletically, we were behind. We can’t compete with that. But they executed the game plan to the best of their ability. That’s all we can ask for as coaches is to do what we ask them to do to the best of their ability. For that, I’m happy.”
The Bulldogs also say goodbye to seniors Ricky Salinas, Joe Fernandez, Alexander Valdez, Julius Vaughn, Alessandro Elizondo, Edgar Zuniga, Allen Guardiola and Eads.
Valdez said this team should look back on the 2024-25 season with pride, especially since the Bulldogs were a 28-win team that outright won the District 30-6A title.
“They had a great season,” he said. “A lot of teams would switch places with us. We accomplished one of our goals in winning a district title. Hopefully, next year they’ll break through the wall and beat a San Antonio team.”
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