For much of the first quarter of its Class 5A Division II bidistrict playoff game against Hanks, the Burges boys basketball team looked like a Ferrari trying to navigate a parking lot.
Then, in a stunning short period of time, the Mustangs found the expressway. Burges scored 14 unanswered points in the final 2:18 of the first quarter, part of a 22-2 run that helped them earn a 86-81 victory against a gritty Knights team and an area round game this weekend against Amarillo Palo Duro.
With the win Burges improves to 22-11 while Hanks finishes its season 16-18.
Quoting Burges coach Daniel Martinez
“All year long we’ve been trying to set the tempo, set the pace,” Burges coach Daniel Martinez said. “That’s what we’ve done all year long: play fast, play quick. We were able to get there earlier, they dug themselves a pretty big hole, that was a lot to come back from.
“At the end of the day our guys played tough.”
How it happened
For much of the night the Knights played evenly with Burges, but in that explosive end of the first quarter the Mustangs hit a gear not many teams in El Paso can match, and they were able to throw some other flurries to answer a number of Hanks runs.
After falling behind 32-12 Hanks settled down and found some offense of its own to claw within 44-32 by halftime and later as close as 44-39, then Burges scored nine points in 2 minutes to restore order.
The game looked like that throughout. Hanks hung around on guts and 3-point shooting (it made nine of those), then Burges would find the expressway and motor off for a while. The Knight plugged back within 70-61 with 4:40 left, then Burges scored seven points in 50 seconds.
The Knights clawed to 80-74 on a Sebastian Martinez 3 with 52 seconds left, but by then they were running out of time.
Quoting Mustang Anthony Rubio
“That’s the way we play basketball here,” said center Anthony Rubio, who led the Mustangs with 27 points and six blocks. “We try to push it as much as we can. Get defensive rebounds and push the ball.”
Actually some of those fast breaks started on Rubio blocks.
“I’m always proud of my offense, but today I’m more proud of my defense,” Rubio said. “Six blocks, that’s not easy.”
Alex Bermudez added 19 points for Burges and had four free throws in the final 1:05 to keep Hanks at bay. Matthew Saucedo led Hanks with 25 points.
“Their kids hit a lot of shots, a lot more 3-pointers than I anticipated or would like myself,” Martinez said. “That kept them in the game. Give a lot of credit to their kids, persevering through that. That’s a good team over there, fortunately for us we just played a little better and made a few more plays at the end.”
It added up to an entertaining, high-scoring playoff basketball game.
Up next
Burges will play Amarillo Palo Duro in the area round of the playoffs this weekend. Site and time are to be determined.
Bret Bloomquist can be reached at bbloomquist@elpasotimes.com; @Bretbloomquist on X.
This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: Burges rolls past Hanks to advance in boys basketball playoffs
Reporting by Bret Bloomquist, El Paso Times / El Paso Times
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
