By ROY HESS | Staff Writer
BROWNSVILLE — A pretty successful basketball season continues to get even better for the Edinburg Vela Sabercats.
The Sabercats pulled away from a feisty Brownsville Hanna squad during the fourth quarter to capture a 65-58 Class 6A bi-district victory Tuesday night at the Golden Eagles’ gym.
District 31-6A co-champion Vela (26-10) moves on to the area round of the playoffs later this week to face Laredo United South.
“Our perseverance is what stood out to me in this game,” Vela coach Lucio Rodriguez said. “Our guys never gave up. It started with the technical (awarded to Hanna before the game began to make it 2-0). We battled some adversity, and the guys’ resilience showed. They wanted this game.
“This win is great for our players,” Rodriguez added. “We do this so we can see them celebrate. Just seeing them celebrate brings a joy to the team. We’re trying to give our seniors the best season that we can. It’s all about them. We’re trying to give them a memorable season to look back upon in the future as one of their best.”
Hanna, the District 32-6A co-runner-up, ends its season at 18-14.
“I think we played excellent basketball,” Hanna coach Fermin Lucio said of his team’s effort against the Sabercats. “I can’t ask anything more of a team. We scored probably the most points we’ve scored all year long, and the boys executed to perfection.
“That’s a great program we were facing on the other side in Vela,” Lucio added. “They made plays when they needed to, and more power to them. Vela is a district championship team. They lost the flip (for the No. 1 seed in the playoffs) to Edinburg Economedes. We lost our flip to Harlingen High (for the No. 2 playoff seed), so it was just two good teams matching up here tonight.”
For three and a half quarters, it remained quite close.
Hanna led 18-17 after one quarter, and the Sabercats were on top 36-35 at intermission after outscoring the Eagles 19-17 during the second period.
The Sabercats took a 47-45 advantage into the final quarter after outpointing Hanna 11-10 during the third period. Vela broke things open and outscored Hanna 18-13 during the fourth quarter.
Hanna’s biggest lead was five points twice late in the second quarter. The Eagles’ Charles Thirlwall scored on a drive with three minutes to go before intermission to make it 33-28. Then, with 2:08 left before the half, Hanna’s Issac Iracheta scored off a rebound for a 35-30 tally.
The largest advantage for the Sabercats was nine points twice during the final quarter. Vela’s Kaleb Coronado scored on a drive from the right side with 3:44 remaining to give his team a 59-50 edge. Teammate Noah Sekinger sank a pair of free throws with 3:22 left for a 61-52 lead.
Sekinger made the second of two free throws with 12.8 seconds showing to account for the winning margin of seven points, 65-58.
Victor Campos led Hanna with 13 points, including one 3-pointer. Teammates Sabian Arceneaux and Cristian Torres added 14 and eight points, respectively. Each had a pair of 3-pointers.
Vela was led by Sekinger’s 21 points. Also scoring in double figures for Vela were Bobby Espericueta and Josh Diaz with 16 and 12 points, respectively. Espericueta had two 3-pointers and Diaz had one. Coronado added nine points, including one 3-pointer.
Hanna was making its first playoff appearance in four years.
“I think playing on our home court tonight gave us a little energy and helped us,” Lucio said. “We’re just proud of our boys and excited for what the future holds. We had missed the playoffs for a few years, so all the power to our senior group that really got us going in the right direction this year.
“This senior group won’t be forgotten anytime soon,” he added. “They kind of set the table for us, and now we have some good underclassmen who are coming up. We’re excited about them keeping us moving in the right direction.”