HARLINGEN — Despite scoring the last four points of regulation in a final push, the Harlingen Cardinals could not contain Brownsville Veterans’ final run in overtime.
The Chargers sprinted to a quick 8-0 run in the extra period and never looked back as they walked out of Harlingen on Friday night with a 77-67 win over the Cardinals.
As was the constant throughout, the Cardinals (1-2 in 32-6A) held a 59-54 lead late in the fourth only to see the Chargers (2-1 in 32-6A) go on a 9-0 run to pull ahead by four late.
Harlingen’s Jordan Wilson, however, tied the game with four consecutive free throws, but foul trouble and the Chargers depth caught up with the young Cards in the extra period.
Even with the run in OT, Veterans head coach Larry Gibson knew his team made the most of an unlikely opportunity.
“We were lucky to get into the overtime. (Harlingen) almost came back and took (the game) from us, but in overtime I feel like we had more depth,” Gibson said “Our kids made some shots and made some free throws; it was a great game for the fans. Both teams played a hard game and it was a clean game. One team had to win and one had to lose, but we won a great game.”
Harlingen played without starters Juan Cerrillo and Elijah Rhodes for portions of the second half due to foul trouble, which caused the offense to go cold at times despite solid play from Wilson.
“We got into that foul trouble and it hurt us. We played with out (Juan) Cerrillo and (Elijah) Rhodes, who scored in the high 20s for us last game and was hitting some threes in the second half,” Harlingen head coach Greg Yates said. “In the overtime we ran out of our depth and (Vets) made some key shots. They’re a great team, but we showed that we’re right there. We just have to keep plugging away.”
It was a neck and neck kind of game early on with both teams tying in the first quarter.
Then, Veterans took over the second quarter, forcing turnovers and getting to the basket, building a 33-23 lead.
The Chargers led buy seven at half, riding Isaiah Torres and Manny Perez’s combined 13 points in the second period.
The Cards countered after the break after a couple of quick steals and a 9-4 run. Rhodes hit four three-point shots in the period for the Cards and helped his team take a 54-52 lead in an up and down fourth quarter.
Perez had some shots of his own fall late in the fourth as he dropped two consecutive threes to put his team up four, before Wilson sent the game into OT.
Wilson finished with 27 points leading all scorers, while Rhodes added 16.
For Vets, Perez led with 22 points, Aaron Villarreal pitched in 19 and Torres finished the night with 16.