By MARK MOLINA | Staff Writer
Hanna Golden Eagles coach Fermin Lucio said it was important that his team come out swinging in its high-stakes rematch with the Los Fresnos Falcons.
The Golden Eagles did just that and never let up.
Hanna came out on fire on offense during the game’s opening minutes and its defense played stingy throughout, paving the way to a 53-28 District 32-6A win over Los Fresnos on Friday night in Brownsville.
The Golden Eagles got off to a 14-0 lead within the first five minutes, sparked by four 3-point shots — two coming from guard Cris Torres — and led 18-1 after the first quarter.
It was the kind of start Lucio said he didn’t see in the overtime loss at Los Fresnos earlier this month and one his team needed to match the intensity of its home court.
“Last time we played Los Fresnos on the road, we had a horrible first quarter,” Lucio recalled. “We won the second half, so our message the last few days was that we need a hot start, especially on our home court. We may have the oldest gym in the Rio Grande Valley, but it’s the best atmosphere in the Valley hands down. We needed the boost more than anything and we got it.”
Hanna not only handed Los Fresnos its first loss of the district season but created a tie atop the district standings with both teams at 6-1 with three games to play.
The Golden Eagles shot the ball well from the outside, racking up five 3s on the night, and created easy points in the paint through ball movement.
As a result, Hanna received offensive production from all over the floor as Torres, Victor Campos and Issac Iracheta led the way with 11 points apiece.
“We came out hot,” Lucio said. “We shot the ball well the past few days of practice. One of our big things is shooting well in practice and carrying it over to the games, and we did that tonight.”
Meanwhile, the Falcons struggled from the field and didn’t have a made basket until the 3:32 mark of the second quarter on an Elian Gonzalez layup.
It was the Falcons’ only field goal of the first half as they trailed 28-5 at the break.
Los Fresnos coach Marco Hinojosa said his team didn’t rise to the occasion this time, but he won’t dwell on it with three games left in the district season.
“Hanna brought more energy today,” he said. “You know what, they got this win and they are celebrating like they won a district title already, but there are still three games to go. That’s what I’m going to tell my kids; it’s not over. We haven’t won anything even before this game. We knew that coming in, win or lose. We have three games to go and we have to refocus, beat San Benito at home and we’ll be all right.”
Hanna’s defense smothered Los Fresnos and played disciplined, sending the Falcons to the line, where they went 3 of 5, just three times during the first half.
After the Golden Eagles pushed the lead to 24 on a pair of Torres free throws, the Falcons showed their first life with an 8-2 run that was capped by a Danny Ramirez three-point play to make it 32-13 with 3:32 remaining in the quarter.
The third quarter went to Los Fresnos 11-10. It was their best eight minutes of the night.
“That’s the only positive; the kids fought until the end,” Hinojosa said. “We still lost the second half. We won the third and lost the fourth, but Hanna is a good ballclub. It’s two good teams going at it. Whether you win by one or 50, it doesn’t matter. So credit Hanna, that’s a heck of a ballclub and Coach Lucio does a good job with them. We just have to refocus.”
The Falcons also opened the fourth with a bit of a spark as they cut the lead to 17 on a Ricky Altamirano trey, but Hanna finished the game on an 11-3 run.
Los Fresnos’ Danny Ramirez had 10 points to lead the Falcons, and Altamirano added seven.