BY SAUL BERRIOS-THOMAS | THE MONITOR
EDINBURG — Edinburg High had revenge on its mind coming into Tuesday’s clash with Edinburg Vela.
Vela was 3-0 against EHS during the last two seasons, including a win at Edinburg High earlier this year.
“The past few years, we haven’t really beat Vela,” senior guard Damian Garcia said. “It’s always a tough matchup, and I’m just glad we finally got that W for our senior year.”
Vela got up early, but the Bobcats battled back. Edinburg High hit the first shot of the second half to build an eight-point lead and never let the SaberCats back into the game, securing a 60-49 win.
“The past few years, late in the season, we have always had a losing skid,” senior center Jesus Cantu said. “It feels good especially with the win here at Vela, going into the playoffs.”
With Vela’s loss, Edinburg North clinched an outright District 31-6A title after beating PSJA Southwest 47-40 on Tuesday. Vela is the second seed. Edinburg High and Edinburg Economedes both finished the season 10-4, and they split the season series.
Coaches Carlos Ramos of Economedes and Esequiel Cuellar of EHS spoke late Tuesday night, but they decided to meet Wednesday morning to determine if they should flip for the seeding or play a game to break the tie.
Cantu, the defensive anchor in the middle for the Bobcats, was tasked with guarding junior center Noah Sekinger, Vela’s leading scorer, on Tuesday.
“I think I did well enough,” Cantu said. “I didn’t have backside help the whole night, so it was one-on-one. He went to the free-throw line a few times, but I think it was a good contest tonight.”
Sekinger had 20 points on the evening. Cantu finished with six.
“They are two talented big men,” Garcia said. “Two of the top five in the Valley, maybe top two. It’s very entertaining to watch them compete. They are both very intelligent in the post area.”
Junior forward Antoine Woodard has been the Bobcats leading scorer this year, averaging 17.3 points per game.
When EHS faced PSJA High on Jan. 26, Woodard was unavailable, and the Bobcats struggled to a 53-43 loss. The situation, however, helped Edinburg High on Tuesday. Woodard picked up a few early fouls against Vela and had to spend time on the bench in both halves because of foul trouble.
“My team is really good, and they can do it with or without me,” Woodard said. “I told them, ‘You can do this. You can move the ball around as usual. We have shooters. Just keep working as a team and you guys will be fine.’ When I got out of the game, they did exactly what the coaches asked, and they executed very well.”
“Every team member is confident in one another, and it doesn’t matter which players are in,” Cantu added. “We had the sixth and seventh man come in off the bench today, and they flowed right into the offense and the defense. The chemistry is there for us right now.”
Woodard finished the game with 19 for the Bobcats. The other three starters, junior guard Marc Figueroa (15 points), Garcia (13) and junior guard Matt Cruz (five) contributed in support of Woodard and Cantu.
Nate Gomez had eight points off the bench for Vela. Junior guard Josh Diaz and senior guard Trey Chavana each scored seven. Junior forward Aziel Garcia and sophomore guard Matt Arteaga both added three.
Chavana and Sekinger combined for Vela’s first 14 points, allowing Vela to take an early six-point advantage. Garcia and Figueroa got hot in response, and the Bobcats recaptured the lead 15-14 with two minutes left in the first quarter.
“We remember the feeling when they beat us at home (earlier this year),” Garcia said. “We felt like ‘OK, we need to bring something extra next time.’ We knew it was going to be a playoff atmosphere, and we brought it to them today.”
The third seed in District 31-6A will face the second seed from 32-6A, Weslaco High. The 31-6A fourth seed will face top-seeded Los Fresnos in the bi-district round.
“The only things that change in the playoffs is our intensity and how we approach it,” Woodard said. “We just have to keep going hard every day in practice.”