ROY HESS | Staff Writer
Justin Anaya was Mr. Clutch for the Brownsville Veterans Memorial Chargers on Tuesday night.
Anaya swished a 3-pointer from the left corner with a little more than one second remaining to lift his team to a 57-54 non-district victory over the Harlingen High Cardinals at the Brownsville Veterans gym.
The Cardinals inbounded the ball with 1.2 seconds left and got off a shot from midcourt that was off the mark at the final buzzer.
“I thought this was two very good teams playing here tonight,” said Chargers coach Larry Gibson, whose ballclub improved to 12-4. “I can’t take anything away from Harlingen. I feel they were the best team in the Valley. I think we came out with everything we had.
“Harlingen has a great team,” Gibson added. “We were fortunate to have the home court tonight. We went to San Antonio last weekend and played some great competition (in a tournament). (Then) we came out here tonight and played very well.
“Defense was the key for us. When you hold a team like Harlingen to 54 points, you’ve done a very good job. All we needed was 55 points, and we got 57. Defense was the key.”
Harlingen High (9-2) was up 14-11 after one quarter. The Chargers outpointed the Cardinals 13-7 during the second period to lead 24-21 at halftime. Brownsville Veterans took a 37-31 advantage into the final quarter after outpointing the Cardinals 13-10 during the third period.
Harlingen High outscored the Chargers 23-20 during the final eight minutes, but it was just not enough.
“Veterans has a heck of a team, and they did a great job against us,” Cardinals coach Greg Yates said. “This is a tough gym to play in, and we didn’t shoot the ball very well tonight.
“Coach Gibson does an excellent job,” Yates added. “I was fortunate to play for him in college, so it’s always been a nice rivalry when we get to play against each other.”
Harlingen High’s biggest lead was eight points, 14-6, when Michael Arellano hit a 3-pointer from the right side at the 2:22 mark of the opening quarter.
The Chargers never trailed throughout the second half, and their largest lead of 12 points, 46-34, came with 6:09 left in the game when Matt Maddox sank a pair of free throws.
The Cardinals battled back and tied the score at 54 with 57.3 seconds left when Diego Bazaldua drilled a 3-pointer from the top of the key.
From there, with the score tied, the Chargers wound up with the ball as the final seconds ticked away. The ball was passed to Anaya in the left corner and he was money with his 3-point shot.
Initially, the final buzzer sounded right after the game-winning shot from the corner, and the Brownsville Veterans players rushed on the court to congratulate Anaya. Then 1.2 seconds was put on the clock and the Cardinals were given one last chance to tie things again. But that opportunity resulted in the missed halfcourt shot.
Anaya and Damian Maldonado led Brownsville Veterans in scoring with 18 and 10 points, respectively. Anaya finished with a pair of 3-pointers. Maddox added nine points with one 3-pointer, and all of his scoring was done during the fourth quarter.
Arellano led Harlingen High with 19 points, including one 3-pointer. Twelve of Arellano’s 19 points came during the last period. Teammate Bazaldua added 14 points with two 3-pointers.
Brownsville Veterans now takes an eight-day break. Harlingen High next plays in the Tournament of Champions starting Thursday in Los Fresnos.