HARLINGEN — After the Harlingen South Lady Hawks dropped their game against the Harlingen Lady Cardinals earlier in the evening on Tuesday, the South boys were that much more motivated to defend their home court.
Sure enough, the Hawks did just that as they steamrolled the Cardinals 55-34 thanks to the efforts of Grant Lowery and Noah Perez.
Lowery, who finished the game with 18 points, drilled shots from beyond the perimeter and brought the crowd to its feet with every basket. He also finished the game with four three pointers, two steals and two rebounds, as well.
“I was just letting it go, honestly, and to be able to pick up this win against the Cardinals is a great feeling,” said Lowery. “Coach Molina’s style really allows us to play to the best of our ability, in which I like to shoot threes.”
The Hawks defense didn’t allow the Cardinals to get into their offensive groove and took a 13-6 lead at the end of the first quarter.
Then South really took command in the second quarter with an 8-0 run that led to a 30-14 lead at the half.
“Anytime we can get a victory over our crosstown rivals, that’s huge,” said South coach Brian Molina. “Our offense really got going tonight and defensively we were able to limit the Cardinals, which resulted in our win.
“Grant had been having trouble in earlier games with his shots, but I just told him to keep shooting the ball with confidence. You know, after he knocked down one, then two, he was able to continue that success and I believe he got his confidence back tonight.”
Teammates Aaron Briones and Perez combined for 20 points and Briones also had four steals.
With the win, the Hawks improved to 5-1 in District 32-6A and will now face Los Fresnos, which is also 5-1, on the road Friday.