By ADAM KUJAWSKI, Staff Writer
The non-district portion of the boys basketball season has wrapped up, and teams are getting set to make a push toward the playoffs with district competition under way.
The Pace Vikings, Porter Cowboys and Port Isabel Tarpons will begin their district seasons Friday.
The Cowboys (6-11) will open up at 6 p.m. at home against PSJA Southwest and try to reverse a shaky start to the season. Coach Luis Garza is less than impressed with his team’s performance in the early going but is confident he can turn it around.
“I’m going to be honest, I’m not happy with the progress so far,” he said. “I would think we’d be better, but it’s a work in progress.”
Garza made it a point to schedule several games against 6A schools during the non-district season, hoping the tough competition will prepare his team for what he says is a tough District 32-5A.
Across town, the Vikings (8-9) will also begin their push in District 32-5A. Pace will face PSJA High at 6 p.m. on the road.
“It’s been a slow, steady process,” coach Jose Luis Ramirez said. “We’ve been shuffling lineups and trying to build chemistry.
“I’m happy heading into district, we’ve got kids that work hard.”
Pace will jockey for a postseason position against what Ramirez considers a tough PSJA High team that, despite having graduated a number of players, remains competitive.
“I think we can make the playoffs,” he said. “We have to have that mentality. We have to think we’re going to win every time we go out there. I don’t care if we’re playing the Spurs, we’ve got to play to win every time we step on the court.”
District 32-6A basketball tips off Saturday with the Brownsville Veterans Memorial Chargers (11-7) taking on the Hanna Golden Eagles (11-3).
Hanna coach Todd Barckholtz is pleased with his team’s ability at the moment. He thinks there’s always room for improvement, but likes what he’s seen.
“I’m happy with the improvement and overall growth,” he said. “The team is getting better at working together in their roles.
“I expect to compete with every team in this district. There’s five, six, seven good teams, and our goal is to get the highest spot we can get.”
Brownsville Veterans has an offense that can be explosive when its shooters are on point, and the Chargers are coming off a 47-38 win over Porter on Monday. Coach Larry Gibson was unable to be reached for comment via phone as of press time.
The Los Fresnos Falcons (11-7) are set to take on the Harlingen South Hawks at 2:30 p.m. in Harlingen.
Los Fresnos coach Marco Hinojosa thinks his team has the ability to grab one of the four playoff spots this season, but his road starts against what he says is a difficult Hawks team.
“We could be doing better, but we’ve gotten better as the year’s gone on,” he said. “We’ve just got to find a way to win Saturday.
“(Harlingen South is) well-coached. They’re young and they can shoot the ball well at their place, so we’ve got to find a way to make them miss.”
Wrapping up the Saturday slate of 32-6A Metro-area games will be the Rivera Raiders (8-8) playing host to the Lopez Lobos (3-12) at 2:30 p.m.
The young Lobos will look to overcome a slow start behind senior Mike Vasquez.
“We’re a young team this year,” coach Neil Shuster said. “We need to work on our communication, especially on defense. It hurts us sometimes not being familiar with playing together. It takes time.”
Rivera coach Saul Villarreal isn’t satisfied with where his team is, but he hopes his veteran squad can make a playoff run.
“Our goal is to make the playoffs,” he said. “We’ve had several guys on this team that have been together since they were sophomores, so hopefully now that they’re seniors we can reach those goals.”
Port Isabel begins District 32-4A play on the road at 2 p.m. Friday against the Raymondville Bearkats. Coach Nathan Janak was unable to be reached via phone for comment as of press time.
Two other Metro-Area teams, St. Joseph Academy and Brownsville IDEA Frontier, begin their district seasons later in January.
Adam Kujawski covers sports for The Brownsville Herald. You can reach him at (956) 982-6663 or via email at [email protected]. On Twitter he’s @adamkujo1.