PHARR — The PSJA North Raiders found themselves trailing the La Joya High Coyotes by 1 point with 2.8 seconds remaining during a matchup of district title contenders in both teams’ District 31-6A opener Dec. 8.
With one last shot, a play was drawn up for Raiders guard Elijah De La Garza, but the Coyotes prevented the inbounds pass to the PSJA North senior.
Unphased, De La Garza ran past the top of the key and received the pass just below the half court line, 40-feet away from the basket.
The lefty curled around a pair of La Joya defenders, took one dribble to his right and rose up for a last-second attempt.
Once the ball was in the air, there was a split second of silence. Then, an eruption from the PSJA North side as the 40-foot jump shot swished through the net for a 55-53 buzzer-beater victory.
“I took one dribble and I just let it go. It felt good right when it l left my hands, and it went in,” De La Garza said.
The game-winner was no half-court heave or lucky shot.
It was a well-executed jumper under pressure by De La Garza, who practices for those late-game situations.
“I practice shooting from everywhere. (Golden State Warriors guard) Steph Curry is one of my favorite players, and I just like how effortlessly he shoots. So every time I train with my dad (PSJA North boys basketball coach Romeo De La Garza), we work on shooting from the regular high school three, the college 3 and the NBA 3 and even further,” De La Garza said. “I feel like I can shoot from that far and make it consistently, so it was just a rhythm shot for me.”
It’s just one of the many highlight plays De La Garza has pulled off over the last few seasons as a four-year letterman and one of the Rio Grande Valley’s most prolific scorers.
On Nov. 24, De La Garza notched his 2,000th-career point during a game against Weslaco High as he poured in a game-high 32, sending him well over the 2,000 mark.
“It felt good to reach that number because I put in a lot of work and I play with that confidence because of all the work that I put in with my dad training me since I was small. It was an amazing feeling to accomplish reaching the 2,000-mark,” he said.
As a freshman at Mission Veterans, he totaled 624 points for an average of 18.4. The past two seasons at PSJA North, De La Garza averaged 15.7 and 22.6 points per game, respectively.
Now scoring 25.2 points per game during his senior year, De La Garza currently sits at 2,225 career points, with 11 regular season games remaining on the schedule.
Once his high school career is finished, De La Garza will move onto Trinity University in San Antonio, where he recently verbally committed to play basketball.
Before Trinity, however, De La Garza’s focus is on battling through District 31-6A for a potential district title and playoff spot during his senior season with the Raiders (7-3, 4-0 in district).
“Our first two games, we didn’t play to our potential. Now, we’re gelling together and I think we have a pretty good group,” he said. “I think we could really do something with this team, and I’m excited.”
Next up for the Raiders is a key district matchup against Edinburg Economedes (10-2, 4-0) in a battle of unbeaten 31-6A teams scheduled for 2 p.m. Tuesday at PSJA North High School.