Corpus Christi Caller Times Caller.com - Inside power helps West Oso open Pride of Texas with win

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Friday, December 10, 1999

Inside power helps West Oso open Pride of Texas with win
Bears make living feeding Simmons, Fillmore in 48-45 overtime win over McAllen in opening round of event
By Mark Button
Caller-Times

Michelle Christenson/Caller-Times

Tuloso-Midway's Lindsay Mathisen (center) drives between Lockhart's Denise Arias (left) and Jessica Gomez during the Pride of Texas tournament.

Kevin Simmons was listening.
   West Oso High School coach Floyd Campbell had a message for Simmons, his 6-foot-2 power forward, prior to the Bears' first-round game against McAllen in Tuloso-Midway's 15th annual Pride of Texas basketball tournament Thursday night.
   "He told me to play big in there," Simmons said.
   Simmons played huge, scoring 20 points from the low post as West Oso took McAllen to overtime and then won, 48-45.
   Using effective dribble penetration, the West Oso guards consistently got the ball into the hands of Simmons and fellow forward DeAndre Fillmore for one- and two-foot jump shots from the right and left blocks. Fillmore scored 13, eight of which came in the first half, all of which came from the low post.
   "They did a great job of hurting us with dribble penetration," McAllen coach Greg Kiger said. "We should be able to rotate and cover, but we didn't."
   West Oso improved to 6-4 and advanced to today's 7 p.m. game where the Bears will play the winner of today's 9 a.m. game between King and Lamar. King beat Bay City, 56-54, Thursday night. McAllen (6-4) heads to the loser's bracket to play Gonzales today at 9:45 p.m.
   Down five points with 4:00 to play, Fillmore hit one of two free throws followed by back-to-back, low-post buckets by Simmons and Fillmore to tie the game, 44-44, with 2:51 to play.
   Both defenses tightened from there and when West Oso's Richard Gonzalez missed a 12-foot, baseline jumper with seven seconds to play in regulation, the game went to overtime. Gonzalez sparked the Bears in the second half, however, scoring eight points after halftime, including three key free throws at the end of the of the third quarter.
   Simmons scored all four West Oso points in overtime and, along with Gonzalez, Simmons bothered McAllen's Cesar Sotelo, who tried desperately to tie the game in the final minute of overtime with a 3-pointer.
   "It was pressure defense, that's what it was," Simmons said. "Coach told us to not to foul and not to give up the 3-pointer."
   Sotelo finished with 17 points, but was held to eight in the second half.
   Gonzalez, Simmons and Fillmore, along with West Oso guard Lydell Anthony, all played football for the Bears, who advanced to the Class 3A regional semifinals before losing to Hondo.
   As a defensive end, Simmons led District 30-3A with 17 sacks.
   Thursday's game was just the fifth game back with the basketball team for the football players.
   "We knew (McAllen) had a pretty good post player, so I wanted Kevin to spread out and play big," Campbell said. Kiger said West Oso's physicality also hurt McAllen.
   "This was the most physical game I've seen in 20 years," Kiger said. "But it's good for us to come play outside our area. We don't see that kind of physical play."
   McAllen 13 14 9 9 1 -- 45
   West Oso 12 9 11 12 4 -- 48
   McAllen -- Cesar Sotelo 17, Gilbert Cuellar 6, Luis Garza 8, Marcos Puente 4, Julian Balderas 6, Steven Longoria 4.
   West Oso -- DeAndre Fillmore 13, Kevin Simmons 20, Richard Gonzalez 8, Chris Williams 3, Jimmy Fling 4.
   3-pointers -- McAllen, 1 (Sotelo 1). West Oso, 2 (Williams 1, Gonzalez 1).
   Records -- McAllen, 6-4. West Oso, 6-4.
   Staff writer Mark Button can be reached at 886-3613 or by e-mail at buttonm@caller.com

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