Mustangs compete in Sabinal Tournament

The Mustangs finished 1-2 in the Sabinal Tournament last Saturday, Dec. 8, beating Sabinal and falling to both Knippa and the Eagle Pass JV squad.
Sabinal
Natalia beat Sabinal 43-34, outscoring the Yellowjackets 15-9 in the second quarter and 13-6 in the third to put the game away.
The Mustangs shot just 36 percent from the field and made just three of 11 free throw attempts, but it was enough to beat Sabinal, who shot an anemic 29 percent from the floor and turned the ball over 23 times.
Stats: Juelian Armendariz 8 points, 14 rebounds, two assists, two steals; Matt Contreras five points, one rebound, one assist; Jimmyray Gutierrez four points, one rebound, one assist, five steals; Enrique Martinez five points, two rebounds, one steal, one block; Daniel Ramirez six points, four rebounds, one steal, three blocks; Fabian Ruiz six points, two rebounds, three steals; Jared Stallworth six points, four rebounds, one assist, two steals; Faelan Villarreal one rebound.
Eagle Pass JV
The Mustangs came up short against the Eagle Pass JV squad, falling 77-68.
Eagle Pass put the game away early, jumping out to a 22-12 lead after the first quarter. The Mustangs managed to outscore Eagle Pass 19-13 in the fourth quarter, but the comeback attempt fell short.
Natalia shot 38 percent from the field and made just 10 of 22 free throws. Eagle Pass was hot from the field, making 55 percent of their shots to secure the win.
Stats: Armendariz 19 points, 24 rebounds, five assists, eight steals; Contreras 15 points, three rebounds, two assists, five steals; Gutierrez seven points, two rebounds, three steals; Martinez three points, four rebounds, one assist; Ramirez four points, three rebounds, one assist; Ruiz three points, four rebounds, one steal; Stallworth 17 points, three rebounds, two steals; Chris Suarez one assist; Xavier Vasquez two rebounds.
Knippa
The Rock Crushers led from wire-to-wire, opening up a 28-14 lead at the half on the way to a 58-37 win.
Natalia struggled from the field, shooting just 27 percent from the field and converting only nine of 20 free throw attempts while turning the ball over 29 times.
Stats: Armendariz six pionts, seven rebounds, three steals; Contreras five points, two rebounds, two assists, one steal; Gutierrez eight points, 1 rebound, three steals; Austin Guzman one rebound; Martinez six rebounds; Ramirez 10 points, nine rebounds, one steal; Ruiz four points, six rebounds; Stallworth two points, three rebounds, one steal; Villarreal two points, two rebounds.
Upcoming games
The Mustangs were scheduled to travel to Pleasanton to take on the Eagles on press night, Dec. 11. They will play in the Ingram Tournament Dec. 13-15. Natalia will face Center Point at 10:30 am and Rocksprings at 1:30 pm on Thursday, Dec. 13, followed by Brooks at 9:00 am on Friday, Dec. 14. Gold and Silver bracket games are TBD and will be played on Saturday, Dec. 15.
By Marly Davis
Staff Writer