SAN BENITO — History has to possibly wait another night for the San Benito Greyhounds.
The Greyhounds had a chance to clinch an outright district title for the first time since the 1960s, but the Brownsville Hanna Eagles were ready to play spoilers.
The Eagles defeated the Greyhounds 57-52 on Friday night in a District 32-6A contest.
“We needed a playoff atmosphere like this on the road,” Brownsville Hanna head coach Fermin Lucio said. “San Benito is well-coached, they have had a great season and have earned that district championship. We just wanted to come in here and get momentum going in the playoffs. I think we took a step towards that.”
Brownsville Hanna’s Kevin Flores was pivotal down the stretch for the Eagles. Flores made two layups to cut the Greyhounds’ lead to two late in the fourth quarter, then hit clutch free throws to help seal the game.
“All together we had some guys hit free throws and big shots,” Lucio said. “Defense, rebounding and breaking the press helped in the end.”
The win does not rule out the possibility of a split between the two for the district title. San Benito is now 9-1 and Brownsville Hanna is 7-2 going into the final game.
“We did not come out with urgency,” Greyhounds head coach Luis Garza said. “But I think it is a good thing. In my career, every team that I have had go into the playoffs with a winning streak has been bounced in the first round. So it might have been a good thing, even though you never want to lose — a loss like this gets you back to reality.”
San Benito fell behind by as many as 12 points during the third quarter before going on a 16-3 run powered by easy buckets from steals and perimeter shooting.
The Greyhounds went up 34-33 going into the fourth quarter.
Eagles guard Emiliano Hernandez gave his team a nine-point advantage at the break when he slashed through the Greyhounds’ defense and hit a 3-pointer.
Brownsville Hanna outscored San Benito 18-9 during the second quarter. Greyhounds guard Peter Jackson hit two 3-pointers to keep pace.
Although he missed a handful of free throws that could have given the Greyhounds a few points in the first, Chris Thrailkill still helped San Benito defensively with blocks on good looks for the Eagles. Thrailkill did find his touch offensively by beating the buzzer with a floater.
Jackson finished with a team-high 18 points and Thrailkill pitched in with 13 points for the Greyhounds. Flores had 18 points, and Hernandez scored 17 points to lead the Eagles.
“Our kids will come back with urgency and determination,” Garza said. “I think we will get back to what we do, and take care of it on Tuesday.”
San Benito finishes the season at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday against Brownsville Rivera in San Benito. Brownsville Hanna faces Harlingen High at 7:30 p.m. at Brownsville Hanna.