Criollos pay tribute to ‘Piculín’ in OT victory over Vaqueros.

The Criollos of Caguas pulled out a 100-99 overtime victory over the Vaqueros of Bayamón on Tuesday night while wearing uniforms honoring one of Puerto Rico’s roundball legends, José “Piculín” Ortíz, who died of cancer early in the day. 

By THE STAR STAFF

The Criollos of Caguas defeated the visiting Vaqueros of Bayamón 100-99 in overtime on Tuesday night at Roger Mendoza Coliseum.

As a tribute to Puerto Rican basketball great José Rafael “Piculín” Ortíz Rijos, who died early Tuesday at age 62, all Criollos players wore the name “Piculín” on their uniforms during the game.

Caguas dominated for much of the first half, leading 24-17 at the end of the first quarter and going into halftime with a 45-34 lead.

Bayamón rallied in the third quarter, outscoring Caguas 28-19 to cut the deficit to just two points heading into the final period.

In the fourth quarter, the Vaqueros took the lead following a three-pointer by Gary Browne, and the contest remained tight throughout the final minutes. Bayamón’s Xavier Cooks tied the score at 86 with less than a minute remaining, and regulation time ended in a tie, forcing overtime.

Bayamón opened the extra period with a 4-0 run, but the Criollos responded and kept the score close going into the final 30 seconds. Travis Trice scored the go-ahead basket for Caguas with 20.3 seconds left, giving the home team what would prove to be the winning margin.

The Vaqueros failed to convert on their final possession, and the Criollos celebrated the home victory.

Trice led the Criollos with 22 points and 11 assists. Louis King added 19 points and 8 rebounds, while Moses Brown and Alexander Kappos contributed 17 points each.

Jae Crowder finished with 22 points and 10 rebounds for the Vaqueros. Renaldo Balkman scored 16 points, Jaylin Galloway added 15, and Gary Browne finished with 13 points and 7 assists.