Led by senior post Patrick De La Torre, the Rattlers beat McAllen High in the tournament finals 61-53.
De La Torre finished the game with 33 points – 25 coming in the first half – to lead the way for the champions.
“He’s just an outstanding player, although he would never say that about himself,” said Sharyland head coach David Keith of De La Torre.
“He (De La Torre) is just a very humble guy who works hard and he was hot today.”
In the first half, McHi didn’t have an answer for De La Torre as he dominated under the basket, scoring 13 in the first quarter and another 12 in the second.
Fortunately, McHi’s Oscar Rangel scored three three-point shots in the first quarter and Michael Garcia added seven points in the second period to help keep the Bulldogs in check, and end the half only down by 10 at 36-26.
In the second half, the Bulldogs used a strong full-court press to slow down the Rattlers and actually cut the lead down to 42-20 midway through the third.
McHi’s defense also limited De La Torre to only eight second-half point.
However, just as the Bulldogs seemed to have things going their way, the Rattlers turned the tide and began pressing on defense as well.
Suddenly, the Rattlers’ slim two-point lead swelled back to eight by the end of the third and eventually back up to 12 early in the fourth thanks to Joshua Ruiz, who opened the final period with back-to-back three-pointers.
The win improved the Rattlers to 11-4 on the season while the Bulldogs fell to 14-5.
“This was a big win for us and we’ll take it, but we still have a long way to go this season, and a lot to learn,” said Keith.
In earlier action on Saturday, the Edinburg Vela SaberCats routed the Harlingen Cardinals 90-46 to win third place, while the Sharyland Pioneer Diamondbacks beat Edinburg Economedes in the consolation final.