By ROY HESS | Staff Writer
The Harlingen South Hawks find themselves in the middle of the District 32-6A boys basketball race with a 2-2 record.
Los Fresnos leads six-team 32-6A with a 4-0 record in its quest to capture a sixth straight district championship. Harlingen High is in second place with a 3-1 mark, while South and Brownsville Hanna are tied at 2-2 with San Benito at 1-3 and Brownsville Rivera at 0-4.
The first half of district play for boys in 32-6A ends at 7:30 tonight with San Benito at South, Harlingen High at Hanna and Rivera at Los Fresnos.
South is coming off Tuesday’s 56-41 setback at home against Los Fresnos, the Rio Grande Valley’s top-ranked team with a 24-3 overall record.
“I am very pleased with the effort and fight the boys showed against Los Fresnos,” said Hawks coach Brian Molina, whose squad is 22-11 overall. “I see improvement from game to game, and I feel our best basketball is still ahead of us.
“We play a lot of players on our team, and we’re getting good, consistent play from junior Alex Rodriguez and senior Brady Bennett,” Molina added. “I am very blessed to have such a hard-working group of young men to work with every day. After our home game against San Benito, we will finish the season with four out of our last five games on the road. The boys are looking forward to the challenge.”
CRUCIAL WIN
Hanna’s boys are coming off Tuesday’s 68-59 overtime victory at Rivera that allowed the Golden Eagles to stay tied with South at 2-2.
Hanna was led by 16 points from Sabian Arceneaux and 14 from Isaiah Talamantez.
“We’re very young, but our boys are playing tough right now and fighting hard every game,” Hanna coach Fermin Lucio said. “They’re improving every game and learning from their mistakes.
“We hope to continue getting better to compete in our tough District 32-6A,” he added.
The Hanna-Harlingen High matchup figures to be the game of greatest competitive interest in 32-6A boys action tonight.
32-5A BOYS UPDATE
Thanks in large part to their 68-57 win at home against Brownsville Veterans Memorial on Jan. 21, the Brownsville Pace Vikings continue to lead the District 32-5A race with an 8-0 record.
Brownsville Veterans remains in second place with a 7-1 mark.
The two Brownsville teams both play at home at 7:30 tonight with Valley View at Brownsville Veterans and Donna High at Pace.
The rematch between the Vikings and Chargers during the second round of district is scheduled Feb. 14 at Brownsville Veterans.
Rounding out the 32-5A boys standings, it’s Donna High in third at 5-3, while Mercedes and Edcouch-Elsa are tied for fourth at 4-4. Valley View is 3-5, Brownsville Porter is 1-7 and Brownsville Lopez is 0-8.