By EDWARD SEVERN, Staff Writer
RAYMONDVILLE — Raymondville’s Jayson Cantu dropped eight points in overtime to beat the La Feria Lions 60-59 on Friday night in a thriller to stay unbeaten in District 32-4A.
“I thought La Feria came out and played as hard as I have seen them all year from watching tape,” Raymondville coach Rick Tamez said. “They did a great job today. This our first overtime game of the year for us, and to come back and pull it off at the free-throw line where we struggled earlier in the game was a great show of character for our team.”
La Feria and Raymondville traded buckets early and often during the first quarter. Both teams looked to be ready for the game, but it was the Bearkats who took a 19-17 lead against the young Lions after one quarter.
Cantu was strong in the paint all game and was almost impossible to defend at times, but freshman Evan Lopez put up a respectable fight against the much older Cantu.
The Lions were game and took the lead during the second quarter when senior Carlos Gonzales drained a 3-pointer. Raymondville’s Ethan Tagle tied it at 25 on their next trip down the court.
“A lot of good stuff is happening from our big three (Cantu, Tagle and Jayden Garza),” said Tamez. “When those guys are on the Bearkats are pretty darn good.”
Both teams worked for nearly every made shot during the first half. Gonzales found Gavin Vento to tie the game at 29 before the halftime break.
Gonzales opened the second half with another sweet pass to Vento, who finished and converted his free throw after getting fouled. Vento then dropped a floater in the lane, and Sammy Guajardo hit a 3-pointer to give La Feria a 37-29 lead.
Cantu helped spark the dormant Raymondville offense with a three and a bucket in the paint. On defense, the big man had two monster blocks to provide much-needed energy to the Bearkats.
La Feria went into the fourth quarter up 43-39, but Cantu scored another two buckets at the rim to begin the frame.
After taking a smack in the nose near the end of third, Gonzales came back in the game for La Feria. Gonzales was dropping dimes, and he found Lopez and Vento to take back the lead.
Gonzales had a chance to win the game in regulation but missed a putback, sending the game to overtime tied at 50.
In overtime, it was all Cantu. La Feria still had a couple of chances to win the game but turned the ball over at crucial times.