The McAllen Bulldogs waltzed into their matchup on Friday with five straight wins but they left with six. They snuck past Pioneer with a 50-46 win. Given McAllen's advantage in MaxPreps' Texas basketball rankings (they are ranked 304th, while Pioneer is ranked 611th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
McAllen got their win on the backs of several key players, but it was Dylan Benavidez out in front who scored 12 points along with four steals. The team also got some help courtesy of Mario Villegas, who scored 14 points along with five assists and three steals.
When it comes to explaining why Pioneer lost, one person who can't be blamed is Julian Valdez. Despite the final result, he dropped a double-double on 12 points and ten rebounds. Edward Chavez was another key contributor, scoring nine points along with two steals.
McAllen has been performing incredibly well recently as they've won nine of their last ten games, which provided a nice bump to their 20-8 record this season. As for Pioneer, their defeat dropped their record down to 16-11.
McAllen will head out on the road to challenge Pharr-San Juan-Alamo Memorial at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday. Pharr-San Juan-Alamo Memorial is coming into the game on a three-game losing streak. As for Pioneer, they will look to defend their home court on Tuesday against McAllen Memorial at 7:30 p.m.
