By MARIO AGUIRRE | STAFF WRITER
EDINBURG — The first premiere matchup of the boys district season played out in a manner that many might have expected on Friday — packed with plenty of big plays, a fury of emotions, and all of it coming down to the closing seconds of the tightly contested battle.
In the end, though, Edinburg Vela took advantage of its opportunities, hitting free throws down the stretch to withstand a furious second-half rally by Mission Veterans to pull out a 62-57 win at home.
By winning, the No. 3 SaberCats (20-5) reduced the three-way tie for first place in District 31-5A down to two teams, with Sharyland High (21-4, 4-0) beating Rio Grande City on Friday.
“This is a big step for us,” Vela’s Ryan Garza said. “We grew up today, mentally and physically, playing a tough Mission Vets team.”
Garza scored a game-high 27 points, including 19 by halftime to give the SaberCats at 36-25 advantage heading into the break. But Mission Veterans (24-3), ranked No. 1 by RGVSports.com for most of the season, came within 48-47 late in the third quarter after Leo Salazar erupted for 11 points, including three 3-pointers, during that frame to give the Patriots momentum.
Salazar sparked a 22-point third quarter with his shooting from behind the arc, outlet passes and steals. At one point during that stretch, he also took a charge. It was one of the few instances Friday that Mission Veterans got that call in its favor. And it came at a critical juncture for the Patriots, who were trying desperately to avoid their second loss to a Valley school all season.
Salazar scored the last of his 20 points from the foul line, giving Mission Vets a 55-54 edge with 4:01 left to play. Jimmy Cisneros helped Vela regain the lead, however, by hitting two of three free throws after he was fouled behind the arc.
Moments later, Alec De La Cruz (20 points) gave the SaberCats the lead for good when his putback gave them a 58-57 advantage with 2:59 to play. Down the stretch, Mission Veterans turned the ball over twice, as did Vela when it tried to milk time off the clock.
Down by 1 point with 7 seconds remaining, the Patriots lost the ball trying to inbound it. Then, Salazar was called for stepping out of the bounds trying to push the ball up court, preventing the Patriots from ever getting a decent look at the basket in an effort to tie the game.
“We had our opportunities,” Mission Veterans coach Romeo De La Garza said. “It just didn’t happen for us.”
Added Vela coach Lalos Rios: “We’re very fortunate that they made some mistakes. I don’t think it’s anything we did spectacular. I mean, we played good defense, but they had a couple of out-of-bounds calls that hurt them. But my kids, it’s the mental toughness, the chemistry. I had some seniors that just didn’t want to let this game go.”
Rio said he spent the practices leading into Friday’s game focusing on mental toughness. He simulated late-game situations and even put his players on 6-on-5 or 7-on-5 situations, putting his players in position to work out of a rut. He also brought out pads and nudged his players a bit during practice.
“It was, ‘hey, you’ve got to be tough,’” Rios said. “It paid off for us.”