HARLINGEN — While the Harlingen Cardinals saw their big fourth-quarter lead over the Brownsville Veterans Chargers slip through their fingers, the overall game did not thanks to a pair of big plays from Ernie Ramirez and Elijah Rhodes in the waning seconds.
After Ramirez sank a pair of free throws to regain the lead with 8.5 seconds to play, Rhodes stole the ball away from Chargers guard Martin Martinez on the ensuing possession and sank a free throw of his own, wrapping up a 63-61 Cardinals win Tuesday night in Harlingen.
“We just had to keep our heads and our mindset to keep playing through whatever we were going through,” Rhodes said.
Rhodes finished the game with 22 points to lead all scorers.
The Chargers mounted a 15-2 run to take a 61-60 lead with 20 seconds to play in the game, erasing a 13-point deficit. But it was not to be as the Cards showed their mettle in the clutch.
While Veterans’ (26-4) late push came as a surprise, Harlingen (17-10, 6-4) head coach Greg Yates was glad to come out of Tuesday with the win after coming up short in their first meeting.
“We have to have a cool head in a hot game, but there is no doubt Veterans is a great team,” Yates said. “We had our opportunities over in their gym and let that one slip away, but at least we had a big enough lead here to hold on.”
With four games left in the district season, the win puts the 6-4 Cards in a third-place tie with 6-4 Harlingen South, who fell to Brownsville Hanna 45-39 Tuesday night.
“Four games is an eternity left, so we have to keep playing and getting better,” Yates said. “Tonight was obviously a big ‘W’ for us.”
The Cards had three players in double figures, as Reece Ortega, who started tonight’s game in place of Matthew Sesler, scored 17 points, and fellow post Juan Cerrillo added 11.
The first half was a back- and-forth affair that featured five lead changes, but the Cards finished the half on a 10-0 run, sparked by a pair of treys from Rhodes, to head into the break up 33-24.
Eight of Ortega’s points came in the third, which helped keep the Chargers at bay despite a 7-0 run in the middle of the quarter.
The Cards led by as many as 13, but sloppy play led to Harlingen turnovers and the Chargers took advantage by attacking the basket and getting to the charity stripe.
Vets knocked down 11 of 12 free throws in the quarter.
A bucket by Alex Marquez gave the Chargers their first lead since the late second quarter with 20 seconds to play, capping their 15-2 run.
Ramirez took the ball on the ensuing possession and was fouled in the lane, sending him to the stripe for the winning free throws.
Marquez finished the game with 13, while teammate Aaron Villarreal added 12.
Martinez, who was stripped by Rhodes with seconds left, finished with 11.