FREDDY GONZALEZ | Staff Writer
HARLINGEN — With a flick of the wrist, Harlingen South’s Aaron Briones had his team covered and the home crowd cheering. The junior netted 13 points and had three 3-pointers, including three late steals, as the Hawks held on to defeat Sharyland 57-47 Tuesday night at the Harlingen South gymnasium.
“Coach put his trust in me to guide the team today,” said Briones after the game. “Coming out of the San Antonio tournament, we had a lot of good competition and we are going to use this win as a stepping stone to help us going into this upcoming tournament (at La Feria).”
Harlingen South will face some stiff competition heading into Thursday’s matchup against Houston Dickinson and Laredo LBJ at the 5th annual Hidalgo Pirate Classic.
The Hawks will play LBJ at noon at the Hidalgo’s main gym before heading to the State Farm Arena to play Dickinson at 6 p.m.
Harlingen South got off to a fast start against Sharyland as a put-back by Brandon Bennett, a three-pointer from Briones and a mid-range jumper by Sean Turrubiates helped the Hawks get off to a fast 7-0 start.
However, midway through the second period and down 13-7, the Rattlers’ offense began to gain momentum and went on 8-3 run to cut the Harlingen South lead to 16-13. South went into the half with a narrow 28-22 lead.
After outscoring the Rattlers 12-8 in the third, Sharyland’s Jacob Olivares hit a crucial three-pointer from beyond the arc to silence the home crowd with 19 seconds remaining in the game.
But South responded as Briones drained a pair of free throws to ensure Harlingen South’s win.
Bennett and Turrubiates finished the game with 13 points apiece while Grant Lowery added nine.
“It’s still early in the season and when you play a good team like Sharyland that is very well coached, if you can come out with a win it’s always a good thing,” said Harlingen head coach Brian Molina.
“I saw something’s that we need to work on and credit to Sharyland, they forced us to take some tough shots but overall I’m really proud of the way the kids competed tonight.”