By ADAM KUJAWSKI, Staff Writer

Now that each team from District 32-6A has played its first game of the second half, the playoff picture remains just as foggy as it was before.

The Los Fresnos Falcons (16-10, 5-3 in District 32-6A) avenged an early-season loss to the Harlingen South Hawks (13-13, 5-3) with a 48-42 home win Tuesday. The win follows Falcons’ victories over the San Benito Greyhounds and Lopez Lobos in the past week.

The Falcons are tied for second place with San Benito (14-13, 5-3) and South, and the teams’ proximity to one another means nearly every game carries implications that could affect the playoff picture.

“We’ve just got to handle our business, we can’t worry about what anyone else is doing,” Los Fresnos coach Marco Hinojosa said. “I tell the kids they control their own destiny. We’ve just got to take it one game at a time. If you lose a game, you can easily drop from three to six, or three to five. It’s just so tight. We’ve just got to take care of ourselves one game at a time.”

The Falcons will try extend their streak to four games when they travel to Harlingen to take on the Harlingen High Cardinals (17-9, 3-5) at 7:30 p.m. Friday. The Cardinals won the first meeting with Los Fresnos 68-51 on Jan. 6.

The three second place teams are closely trailed by the Brownsville Veterans Memorial Chargers (15-11, 4-4), who lost Tuesday to the first-place Hanna Golden Eagles (18-4, 7-1) and face San Benito at 7:30 p.m. Friday on the road.

COLLISION COURSE

The Porter Cowboys have rebounded from a 1-3 start in District 32-5A and are tied for third place with PSJA High.

Since Porter’s struggles out of the gate, it has won four consecutive games, beating Mercedes, Donna North, Edcouch-Elsa and PSJA Southwest.

The Cowboys (11-14, 5-3 in District 32-5A) look to extend their winning streak with a road game against the Pace Vikings (14-11, 6-2) at 7:30 p.m. Friday. Pace defeated Porter 55-37 on Jan. 6 at home in a district game. A Porter win would secure at least a tie for second place with Pace with five district games remaining.

The Vikings will try to duplicate their success from the first half of district and stop a brief skid when they meet the Cowboys.

Pace posted a 6-0 record to start district but has since lost to the first-place Donna High Redskins and tipped of the second half of district with a loss to PSJA High.

Adam Kujawski covers sports for The Brownsville Herald. You can reach him at (956) 982-6663 or via email at [email protected]. On Twitter he’s @adamkujo1.

By ADAM KUJAWSKI, Staff Writer

It took a freshman to give the Los Fresnos Falcons the shot in the arm they needed.

Jordan Urbina scored a game-high 14 points during the final 12 minutes of the contest, including nine during the fourth quarter, and the Falcons (16-10, 5-3 in District 32-6A) pulled ahead late to top the Harlingen South Hawks 48-42 on Tuesday in Los Fresnos.

The Hawks (13-13, 5-3) were ahead 27-18 early in the third quarter, and Los Fresnos was struggling to find the bottom of the net.

But Falcons coach Marco Hinojosa called a timeout with 4:05 remaining in the period, prompting a 13-2 run by Los Fresnos during a span of just more than five minutes.

“It took two freshman coming in from the bench in (Andrew Carrizales) and (Jordan Urbina),” Hinojosa said. “They gave our team a huge spark. I finished the game with two freshmen on the floor, and thank God for them.”

The final basket of the Los Fresnos run gave the Falcons their first lead of the night, and it wasn’t relinquished. Even though the Hawks scored 13 points during the fourth, Los Fresnos had caught fire and the 21 points it scored were enough to put South away.

“It came down to offensive rebounding, Los Fresnos did a really good job on the offensive boards,” Harlingen South coach Brian Molina said. “We were giving them second and third shots, and when you let a good team like that get two or three shots at it, it’s going to be tough.

“It was two good ballclubs going at each other. We knew it was going to be tough to win at Los Fresnos. The kids played hard, but in the end I think Los Fresnos played a little bit harder than we did tonight.”

The Los Fresnos offense was missing in action during the first half of the game.

The Falcons matched the Hawks with nine first-quarter points, but Los Fresnos only made one successful field goal to go with two made free throws for a five-point second quarter.

“We struggled offensively. We were shooting 13 percent at halftime,” Hinojosa said. “South struggled offensively themselves. There’s nothing we were doing defensively, we were just both struggling. If we both hit shots, it would have been a different ballgame.

“It’s just two teams going at it, knowing that it’s a big game no matter what. I don’t know if the best team won tonight, but one team has to win and one has to lose.”

The Hawks’ Luke Bradford was second in scoring with 11 points, and teammate Jimmy Morton added seven. Hugo de la Cruz was the Falcons’ second-leading scorer with eight points.

Adam Kujawski covers sports for The Brownsville Herald. You can reach him at (956) 982-6663 or via email at [email protected]. On Twitter he’s @adamkujo1.

By ADAM KUJAWSKI, Staff Writer

The Harlingen High Lady Cardinals scored early and often. The 19 points they netted during the first quarter would be a precursor to how the remainder of their 68-44 road victory against the Hanna Lady Golden Eagles would look.

It took until the midway point of the first quarter until the Lady Cardinals (24-3, 9-0 in District 32-6A) began to heat up, but with the score 5-2 in favor of Harlingen High with 3:40 remaining in the first, the Lady Cardinals scored on their next four possessions over a span of just more than one minute to extend their lead to eight.

Hanna (17-9, 4-5) struggled to maintain possession as it tried to break the Lady Cardinals’ pressure and managed just seven points during the first.

“We were working on our rotation and working on trapping better,” Harlingen High coach Ashley Moncivaiz said. “And when we were having problems letting them through, we were able to make the adjustments in the second half and we were stopping them a lot better.”

The Lady Eagles found life offensively during the second, scoring 11 points in just more than three minutes to start the quarter.

However, Harlingen High neutralized Hanna’s scoring during that stretch with 11 points of its own and added a nine-point surge that took just one minute.

“They’re ranked 20th in the state for a reason,” Hanna coach Luis Gonzalez said. “They had great ball pressure and we struggled with the ball pressure today.

“We played good in spurts, we weren’t consistent for 32 minutes and that was the difference of tonight’s ball game. They were consistent and we weren’t. Against a team like Harlingen, you’ve got to play for the whole 32 minutes.”

With the score 39-24 in favor of the Lady Cardinals at halftime, Hanna’s defense didn’t match its offense and the Lady Eagles gave up ground during the second, despite scoring 17 points.

Hanna’s offense stalled again at the start of the second half and the six points scored by the Lady Eagles didn’t come close to matching the Lady Cardinals’ still-potent attack that poured in another 21 points during the third.

The Lady Eagles allowed eight fourth-quarter points and scored 14 of their own during the final period, but the deficit was too great.

“We’re right in the thick of things in the district,” Gonzalez said, “and I think when it’s all said and done we’ll be right where we need to be.

“We have five more games to go, and we’ve just got to work hard, have fun and keep it positive at all times.”

Hanna’s Taylor Cano and Harlingen High’s Gizelda Ortiz each scored 15 points and were the game’s leading scorers. The Lady Cardinals’ Addison Dickey and Marissa Gasca each added 14 points, and Hanna’s Alicia Chavez chipped in 12.

Adam Kujawski covers sports for The Brownsville Herald. You can reach him at (956) 982-6663 or via email at [email protected]. On Twitter he’s @adamkujo1.

By ADAM KUJAWSKI, Staff Writer

The St. Joseph Academy Bloodhounds are ranked No. 19 in the weekly Texas Association of Basketball Coaches top 25 poll for large private schools.

Their position on the poll is up two spots from last week’s No. 21 ranking.

“It’s nice that the kids get recognition,” St. Joseph coach Sam Lucio said. “It’s good they get noticed for the hard work they put in.”

The Bloodhounds (16-6, 1-0 in TAPPS) recently began district play with a 46-33 win over the San Antonio St. Anthony Yellow Jackets on Jan. 17.

“I’m satisfied with the way we’ve been playing, but there’s still a lot of work to be done,” Lucio said. “We’ve still got five district games ahead of us.”

Up next on St. Joseph’s schedule are the San Antonio Antonian Apaches (21-8, 1-0). The Apaches are ranked No. 15 in the most recent TABC poll, and Lucio thinks the game will test his team.

“(San Antonio Antonian is) one of the powerhouses in our district,” he said. “They’re ranked in the same poll as us, and they’re bringing back some players from last year.”

The Bloodhounds will look to add to their state-recognized résumé when they tip off against the Apaches at 4:30 p.m. Saturday at home.

HAWKS GIVE UP GROUND

The Harlingen South Hawks lost Tuesday to the Brownsville Veterans Memorial Chargers, narrowing the gap between the two teams in the District 32-6A standings.

The Hawks (12-12, 4-2 in district) are now in a three-team tie for second place in the district with the Chargers (15-9, 4-2) and the San Benito Greyhounds (13-12, 4-2).

“I told our kids, we’ve just got to keep taking care of ourselves, we need to win ball games at home and hopefully we can steal one or two on the road,” Harlingen South coach Brian Molina said. “It’s going to be tough to win on the road in this district. We’ve seen that firsthand (at Brownsville Veterans Memorial), and then when we lost to Hanna in a close one over there. Just as long as we can take care of ourselves at home, hopefully we’ll be all right for the playoffs.”

The district season is nearing the halfway point, and with the Hanna Golden Eagles (16-4, 5-1) dropping their first district game of the season Tuesday to San Benito, the top spot is still within reach of a number of teams.

PACE ON A ROLL

The Pace Vikings extended their perfect District 32-5A record with a 46-41 win over the Mercedes Tigers on Tuesday.

The Vikings (14-9, 6-0 in district) are in a battle with the Donna High Redskins (15-10, 6-0) for the top spot in the district.

The two teams will meet to close out the first half of district when they face each other at 7:30 p.m. Friday at Donna High. The winner will hold sole possession of first place with seven games remaining.

Adam Kujawski covers sports for The Brownsville Herald. You can reach him at (956) 982-6663 or via email at [email protected]. On Twitter he’s @adamkujo1.

By ADAM KUJAWSKI, Staff Writer

It came down to the final seconds, but the Brownsville Veterans Memorial Chargers survived Harlingen South after a late rally by the Hawks fell short.

Brownsville Veterans clung to a one-point lead during the final 18 seconds but held on to win 45-44 after missed baskets by South’s leading scorers, Luke Bradford and Gabe Beltran, as time expired.

“This was a game between two very evenly-matched teams,” Brownsville Veterans coach Larry Gibson said. “We fought a little harder at the end, but this was a great basketball game. I think both teams were evenly matched, and I think the team that wanted it the most got it at the end.”

With 2:52 remaining in the game, Brownsville Veterans (15-9, 4-2 in District 32-6A) held a 41-34 lead, but Harlingen South (12-12, 4-2) clawed its way back, surging ahead with a 10-1 run that took just more than 40 seconds and taking the lead 43-42.

However, Isaiah Torres made a layup and the front end of a 1-and-1 for the Chargers during the final minute to counter a single made free throw by Bradford , giving Brownsville Veterans the lead before the final possession.

“Brownsville Veterans is a very good team, and a game like that just goes to show you how tough this district really is,” Harlingen South coach Brian Molina said. “Credit to them and their coaching staff and coach Gibson, who does a great job with them.

“They played hard. We knew it was going to come down to probably one or two possessions and it did.”

The game was back-and-forth and high-scoring throughout the second half. The teams combined for 58 points during the latter two quarters after netting just 31 total points before halftime.

Each team experienced a severe scoring drought during the first half. For Harlingen South, it came right out of the gate.

The Hawks made just one basket and one free throw during the first quarter, allowing the Chargers to jump out to a 9-3 lead. South didn’t turn around its scoring until the 5:52 mark in the second.

“I told the kids that we were settling for too many perimeter shots, and that’s not really our game this year,” Molina said. “I told them we needed to be a little bit more aggressive to the basket.”

Just as the Hawks turned their game around, Brownsville Veterans’ fortunes shifted.

The Chargers held a 12-3 lead early in the second quarter but proceeded to make only a pair of free throws the remainder of the half, giving Harlingen South a 17-14 lead at the midway point.

“The second quarter, we weren’t putting enough pressure on them,” Gibson said. “We were letting them come down the court and do whatever they wanted. In the second half, we started pressuring the ball a bit more and I think that helped us.”

After halftime, the scoring opened up and neither team went long without putting points on the board.

Bradford led all scorers with 14 points, and Beltran added 10 for the Hawks. Torres led the Chargers with 13 points, and teammate Manny Perez chipped in 11, all of which came during the second half.

Brownsville Veterans next travels to Rivera to face the Raiders, and Harlingen South will play host to the Lopez Lobos. Both games will tip off at 7:30 p.m. Friday.

Adam Kujawski covers sports for The Brownsville Herald. You can reach him at (956) 982-6663 or via email at [email protected]. On Twitter he’s @adamkujo1.

By ADAM KUJAWSKI, Staff Writer

Second-half adjustments by the No. 21 St. Joseph Academy Bloodhounds allowed them to start TAPPS district play on the right foot.

Following a slim 28-23 lead after the third quarter, SJA (16-6, 1-0 in district) scored 18 points during the fourth to earn a 46-33 victory over the San Antonio St. Anthony Yellow Jackets (7-12, 0-1) on Saturday at home.

“Our passing started working there in the second half,” St. Joseph coach Sam Lucio said. “We were shooting too many 3s in the first half. I told (the team), ‘Weneed to start moving the defense side to side and penetrating the gaps.’ I think we did a pretty good job of that.”

The Bloodhounds started slow, hitting a 3-pointer on their opening possession and not tallying another point until the 1:47 mark in the first quarter.

After falling behind 9-5 at the end of the first, Sean Cantu-Rudder, Kai Money and Jorge Villarreal combined for eight points on three baskets in just more than one minute early in the second.

St. Joseph managed just eight points during the third quarter but still managed to pull ahead on the scoreboard. St. Anthony scored only seven points after a 0-for-7 stretch from the field over a span of nearly seven minutes.

The scoring opened up for the Bloodhounds during the final quarter, though. Sparked by a Villarreal 3-pointer, SJA made six of 11 field goals and hit 5 of 6 from the free throw line.

The 10 points the Yellow Jackets scored during the fourth were their most of any quarter, but it wasn’t enough to outpace the Bloodhounds.

“We have a long season,” St. Anthony’s coach Kevin Smisek said. “District is not won or lost the first game of the year.

“We talk to our guys all the time about winning on the road and that you really have to be 10 to 12 points better to eke out a two-point win. St. Josephis a tough place to win. We had our chances but we just didn’t make the most of it.”

Villarreal led the team with eight fourth-quarter points and 16 points overall. Cantu-Rudder was the game’s second-leading scorer with 13 points. Ricardo Valadez led the Yellow Jackets with 11.

“It’s very big (to win the first district game) because we’re in a very good district, so we have to take care of all our chances,” Lucio said, “I told the guys we have six opportunities in district and we have to take advantage of every single one.”

Adam Kujawski covers sports for The Brownsville Herald. You can reach him at (956) 982-6663 or via email at [email protected]. On Twitter he’s @adamkujo1.

By ADAM KUJAWSKI, Staff Writer

The Hanna Golden Eagles waited until the last possible moment before they poured on the points.

The Eagles (16-3, 5-0 in District 32-6A) trailed after each of the first three quarters and were tied after the fourth. It wasn’t until an extra period that they separated themselves from the Los Fresnos Falcons (13-10, 2-3) during a 66-56 overtime win Friday night at home.

“We gutted out a tough victory,” Hanna coach Todd Barckholtz said. “No matter who you play, every round of district’s going to get that much harder to get a ‘W.’ Then you throw in a team that’s right behind us in district, (and) you’re going to get a Friday night matchup like that.”

Hanna’s Ed Messbarger set the tone by hitting a jump shot on the opening possession of OT and a 3 with 2:30 remaining in the game to put the Eagles ahead 59-54.

Hugo de la Cruz — the Falcons’ leading scorer with 22 points — fouled out, and Los Fresnos failed to score until the final seconds.

“It was a good game, it could’ve gone either way, and they just made more plays and more stops in overtime,” Los Fresnos coach Marco Hinojosa said. “It was a close game the whole way. It was a good, hard-fought game by two good teams. I thought it was like a playoff game.

“I told the guys it wasn’t going to be easy. Hanna’s at the top of the district. They’re an elite ballclub. I’m proud of my guys. We had a chance to win the game, and that’s all you can ask for.”

Lou Garcia added a layup, and Andy Lopez and Alex Hererra combined to hit 5 of 6 free throws to round out the 12 overtime points scored by Hanna.

Each team had a chance to win during the final seconds of regulation, but a turnover by Los Fresnos and a missed shot by Hanna meant Roy Quesada’s 3-pointer with 54 seconds remaining forced additional time.

The Eagles remained within three or four points most of the game, but at one point during the third quarter they found themselves in their biggest deficit of the night.

Los Fresnos scored 11 consecutive points during a span of a minute and a half to balloon its lead to eight points and put itself in control late in the third quarter.

However, it didn’t take long for the Eagles to dig themselves out. They returned the favor early in the fourth when Herrera and Messbarger combined to score eight points in just more than one minute to take a 46-43 lead.

Los Fresnos responded, though, and the teams exchanged baskets down the stretch, ending with Quesada’s 3 to force overtime.

Hanna and Los Fresnos played each another once before during non-district play in the championship game of the Brownsville Tournament. Hanna won that game 51-39, but Barckholtz said the games hardly were comparable.

“It was the same team and the same kids, but that Brownsville Tournament was two pretty tired teams on the fourth game of a tournament,” Barckholtz said. “It’s really night and day. You know who the kids are, but tonight was a much better ballgame than that tournament game.”

Herrera tied for the scoring lead with 22 points. Messbarger and Andy Lopez followed for Hanna with 15 and 14 points, respectively. Alex Garcia was the Falcons’ second leading scorer with 10 points.

Adam Kujawski covers sports for The Brownsville Herald. You can reach him at (956) 982-6663 or via email at [email protected]. On Twitter he’s @adamkujo1.

By ADAM KUJAWSKI, Staff Writer

During the first week of the District 32-6A season, the Los Fresnos Falcons stumbled out of the gate.

After a competitive 11-7 start to the season, the Falcons dropped their opening two games to Harlingen South and Harlingen High.

“This district is a tough district. It’s a basketball district,” Los Fresnos coach Marco Hinojosa said. “Any day, anybody can beat anybody.”

Since the rocky start, the Falcons have bounced back to post a 2-2 district record with wins over the Rivera Raiders and Brownsville Veterans Memorial Chargers.

“We could be playing better,” Hinojosa said, “but I’ll take a win any way we can.”

RACE FOR EIGHT

When the Porter Cowboys opened their District 32-5A season Jan. 2 with a win over the PSJA Southwest Javelinas, coach Luis Garza’s young but experienced team had gotten off on the right foot after a shaky non-district run in which it posted a 6-11 record.

“We pretty much have the same crew we had last year,” Garza said after the district opener. “They’re still young, we’ve got juniors and sophomores, but they all played last year.

“I call it a race for eight. We’ve got to get eight wins to get ourselves into the playoffs.”

Since its first district win, Porter has gone 0-3 with losses to Pace, Donna High and PSJA High. As of Jan. 15, the Cowboys are in a “race for seven” with 10 district games remaining.

UPS AND DOWNS

It’s unclear which Brownsville Veterans team will show up during any given game.

The Chargers entered the District 32-6A season with an 11-7 record and have since gone 2-2 with wins against the San Benito Greyhounds and Harlingen High Cardinals sandwiched between losses to the Hanna Golden Eagles and Los Fresnos.

“We’ve been on a rollercoaster,” Brownsville Veterans coach Larry Gibson said. “We lost one, then we won two in a row, then we lost one.

“We beat a very, very good team in Harlingen, then we come and stink up the gym (Tuesday night). We’ve got to try to play for 32 minutes, we can’t just play for eight minutes and expect anything good to happen.”

The Chargers will look to get back on an upswing at 6 p.m. Friday at home against the Lopez Lobos.

STARTING DISTRICT

The St. Joseph Bloodhounds are set to begin their TAPPS district schedule at 3:30 p.m. Saturday, when they play host to San Antonio St. Anthony’s.

The Bloodhounds own a 15-6 non-district record.

Adam Kujawski covers sports for The Brownsville Herald. You can reach him at (956) 982-6663 or via email at [email protected]. On Twitter he’s @adamkujo1.

By ADAM KUJAWSKI, Staff Writer

Through one quarter, it looked as though the Brownsville Veterans Memorial Chargers were going to be in a dogfight with the Los Fresnos Falcons.

Then Hugo de la Cruz took over.

The point guard netted 26 points and led Los Fresnos (13-9, 2-2 in District 32-6A) to a 68-48 win Tuesday night.

With the score Falcons trailing 14-12 at home, de la Cruz scored nine points during the opening three minutes of the second quarter.

“The way Hugo plays, if he shows up, we’re going to be all right,” Los Fresnos coach Marco Hinojosa said. “If he doesn’t show up, it’s going to be a long day. He showed up to play today.

“He is the heart and soul of this team, but it’s not just because of him that we won. At the end of the day it’s a team effort, we defended as a team and we met a lot of our goals as a team.”

The Chargers (13-9, 2-2) kept pace with Los Fresnos and neutralized the barrage by scoring eight points, but after the midway point of the quarter the Falcons’ Alexander Corrizales joined in the scoring and added six points to go with another four from de la Cruz.

Brownsville Veterans failed to keep up, and the Falcons took a 33-27 lead into halftime.

“(De la Cruz) played better than any kid I’ve seen play in the Valley this year,” Brownsville Veterans coach Larry Gibson said. “We tried some of everything on him, and we couldn’t contain him.”

Los Fresnos found production by spreading the ball around more during the third quarter. Six different players scored for the Falcons, totaling 13 points.

Meanwhile, after Aaron Villarreal scored six points during the opening four minutes of the third, the Chargers again fell upon a scoring drought.

By the end of the period, the Falcons were ahead by nine.

De la Cruz again took over to seal the victory, scoring six points during the opening four minutes of the fourth quarter to go with two 3-pointers by Alex Garcia. Los Fresnos was ahead 61-44 and — despite attempts by the Chargers to put Falcons players on the free throw line — the home team held on.

“We hung with them in the first quarter, but they wanted it more than us,” Gibson said. “The last three quarters they outplayed us. I can’t make excuses, they just outplayed us. We looked like we didn’t have the energy we’ve had the past two games.”

Villarreal was the game’s second-leading scorer with 13 points. Garcia chipped in another 11 for the Falcons.

Adam Kujawski covers sports for The Brownsville Herald. You can reach him at (956) 982-6663 or via email at [email protected]. On Twitter he’s @adamkujo1.

By ADAM KUJAWSKI, Staff Writer

It’s early in the season, but the Hanna Golden Eagles came out in front against the Harlingen South Hawks and are now in sole possession of the No. 1 spot atop District 32-6A.

Andy Lopez scored 26 points — including 11 in the fourth quarter — to give the Golden Eagles (13-3, 3-0 in district) a 54-50 win over Harlingen South (10-11, 2-1) on Friday night at Hanna.

With the score tied at 38 at the end of the third quarter, Lopez opened the fourth with two 3-pointers to give his team a 44-40 lead with just more than six minutes remaining.

Hanna coach Todd Barckholtz was grateful for Lopez’s performance but is confident any number of Eagles players could step up in critical situations like that in the future.

“Every night it could be five or six guys doing (what Lopez did),” he said. “We appreciate tonight it was Andy. The next night, hopefully it’s Andy and someone else.”

Harlingen South took advantage of being in the bonus, and Darren Perez hit 4 of 6 free throws on three trips to the line in consecutive possessions to tie the game at 44 with five minutes to go.

“We did a good job getting in the bonus early in the third, so I just told the guys we need to keep attacking the basket and forcing Hanna to hit big shots,” Harlingen South coach Brian Molina said. “Credit to them, though, they hit the shots when it mattered and came up with key turnovers.”

Adrian Barron broke the tie, Lopez hit a pair of free throws and another 3, and Hanna continued to score for the remainder of the contest to maintain the lead the rest of the way.

“I’m happy with the ‘W’ against a good ballclub,” Barckholtz said. “We made mistakes, but we can clean that up and get better.”

After falling behind early and only scoring four points during the first quarter, Harlingen South spent the remainder of the game clawing its way back.

“We started turning the ball over early, and I think we were a little bit over anxious,” Molina said. “But I think once we settled down we were able to play better basketball.

“I think the kids found out real quick, especially against a great team like Hanna, you’ve got to play four quarters.”

The Hawks opened the second quarter on a 7-2 run to narrow the deficit to four points. Lopez hit a 3 and Ed Messbarger made a free throw, but Harlingen South responded with an 8-2 run and ended the half down by five.

Aggressive offense by Perez and Luke Bradford allowed the Hawks to eventually earn their first lead of the night at 32-31 with 4:03 remaining in the third quarter.

The score remained close until Hanna pulled away during the latter half of the fourth.

Lopez led all scorers with 26 points, and Messbarger added 14. Perez had 17 points for Harlingen South and Bradfordchipped in 15.

Each team next plays at 6 p.m. Jan. 13. The Eagles will travel to Rivera to face the Raiders, and Harlingen South will play host to the San Benito Greyhounds.

Adam Kujawski covers sports for The Brownsville Herald. You can reach him at (956) 982-6663 or via email at [email protected]. On Twitter he’s @adamkujo1.