VALLEY HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL SCHEDULE

Tuesday’s Games

District 30-6A

La Joya Juarez-Lincoln 74, La Joya Palmview 27

McAllen High 70, La Joya High 55

McAllen Memorial 77, Mission High 30

District 31-6A

Edinburg High 60, PSJA High 43

Edinburg North 42, Edinburg Economedes 40

Edinburg Vela 54, PSJA Memorial 50

PSJA North 71, PSJA Southwest 46

District 32-6A

Los Frenos 58, Brownsville Hanna 52

Harlingen High 80, Weslaco East 62

Weslaco High 84, Brownsville Rivera 46

District 31-5A

Laredo Cigarroa 72, Roma 67, OT

Laredo Martin 56, Sharyland Pioneer 40

Mission Veterans 52, Sharyland High 47

Laredo Nixon 76, Valley View 41

District 32-5A

Edcouch-Elsa 70, Mercedes 61

Brownsville Pace 53, Donna North 32

Donna High 57, Brownsville Porter 44

Brownsville Veterans at Brownsville Lopez, not reported

District 32-4A

Hidalgo 63, Raymondville 33

Grulla 59, Port Isabel 51

La Feria at Progreso, not reported

Non-District

HOPE Academy at Lasara, not reported

San Isidro at Benavides, not reported

San Perlita 105, Banquete 69

Friday’s Games

District 30-6A

McAllen Rowe at La Joya Palmview, 7:30 p.m.

La Joya Juarez-Lincoln at Mission High, 7:30 p.m.

McAllen Memorial at McAllen High, 7:30 p.m.

District 31-6A

Edinburg High at Edinburg North, 1 p.m.

PSJA Memorial at PSJA High, 1 p.m.

PSJA North at Edinburg Vela, 1 p.m.

Edinburg Economedes at PSJA Southwest, 1 p.m.

District 32-6A

Harlingen High at Los Fresnos, 6 p.m.

Brownsville Rivera at Weslaco East, 6 p.m.

Weslaco High at Harlingen South, 6 p.m.

District 31-5A

Roma at Sharyland Pioneer, 7 p.m.

Valley View at Mission Veterans, 7 p.m.

Laredo Nixon at Laredo Martin, 7:30 p.m.

Sharyland High at Rio Grande City, 7 p.m.

District 32-5A

Edcouch-Elsa at Brownsville Pace, 1 p.m.

Brownsville Lopez at Mercedes, 6 p.m.

Donna North at Donna High, 6 p.m.

Brownsville Porter at Brownsville Veterans, 6 p.m.

District 32-4A

Grulla at Hidalgo, 8 p.m.

Progreso at Port Isabel, 8 p.m.

Non-District

Monte Alto at IDEA Weslaco, 7:30 p.m.

Lasara at Brownville Frontier, TBA

Bruni at San Isidro, 2 p.m.

VALLEY HIGH SCHOOL BOYS BASKETBALL BOX SCORES

Tuesday’s Games

District 30-6A

McALLEN MEMORIAL 77, MISSION HIGH 30

Mission High 0 14 10 6 — 30

McAllen Memorial 24 25 17 11 — 77

McALLEN MEMORIAL (77): Chris Flores 13, Ace Chavez 2, Eddie Garcia 2, Justin Sanchez 5, Chris Melendez 25, Josh Sanchez 15, Elian Reyna 12, Brett Baus 3.

MISSION HIGH (30): Eddie Rivera 9, Yan Martinez 5, Tito Morata 2, Andy Martinez 3, Martin Vazquez 2, Rey Garcia 3, Damian Gomez 5, Louie Garcia 1.

RECORDS: McAllen Memorial 17-6, 2-0; Mission High 9-12, 0-2.

District 31-6A

EDINBURG NORTH 42, EDINBURG ECONOMEDES 40

Edinburg North 10 6 11 15 — 42

Edinburg Econ. 17 6 8 9 — 40

EDINBURG NORTH (42): Andrew Nunez 14, Felipe Aleman 12, Isaiah Rangel 11, Juan Vasquez 3, Josiah Vasquez 2.

EDINBURG ECONOMEDES (40): Angel Salinas 22, Jonathan Barrientos 6, Saul Alanis 4, Simon Pina 2, Aizar Cavazos 6.

RECORDS: Edinburg Economedes 1-1; Edinburg North 2-0.

PSJA NORTH 71, PSJA SOUTHWEST 46

Score by quarters not reported

PSJA NORTH (71): Daunte Galvan 28, Fernie Salazar 3, Ricky Garcia 7, Ramon Salinas 8, Timur Lamb 5, Daniel Martinez 9, Justin Perez 5, Severo Lerma 6.

RECORDS: PSJA North 11-12, 1-1.

District 31-5A

MISSION VETERANS 52, SHARYLAND HIGH 47

Mission Veterans 12 15 9 16 — 52

Sharyland High 7 8 13 19 — 47

MISSION VETERANS (52): Noe Cantu 12, Elijah De La Garza 16, Elias Ibarra 13, Josh Acosta 2, Landry Gilpin 2, Josue Murio 1, Andres Garza 4, J.T. Lerma 2.

SHARYLAND HIGH (47): Brandon McCormick 5, Isai Heredia 2, Andres Abrego 7, Mauro Fernandez 30, Max Aguilar 1, Servando Pruneda 2.

LAREDO CIGARROA 72, ROMA 67, OT

Laredo Cigarroa 10 14 23 11 14 — 72

Roma 21 11 8 18 9 — 67

LAREDO CIGARROA (72): Barry Callahan 8, Mikey Gallegos 24, Robert Meza 1, Jesus Meza 3, Edgar Fraga 25, Jorge Salazar 11.

ROMA (67): Armando Rodriguez 7, Gilberto Garcia 24, Dario Gonzalez 3, Leonardo Alanis 10, Jesus Ramirez 12, Cesar Contreras 2, Noe Garza Jr. 5, Juan Gutierrez 4.

District 32-5A

EDCOUCH-ELSA 70, MERCEDES 61

Mercedes 14 6 27 14 — 61

Edcouch-Elsa 22 9 21 18 — 70

EDCOUCH-ELSA (70): Jeremiah Caballero 20, Bryan Guerra 7, Dustin Rodriguez 6, Joseph Gonzalez 23, Marin Rodriguez 5, Phillip Rendon 7, Marcos Escobar 2.

MERCEDES (61): Caleb Arthur 16, Jordan Gonzalez 2, Jay Ayala 11, Jordan Ovalle 17, Brandon Lozoya 15.

VALLEY HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL SCHEDULE

Thursday’s Games

Non-District

La Joya High 54, PSJA High 52

PSJA North at Brownsville Pace, not reported

Falfurrias Tournament

Thursday’s Games

Lyford 59, San Isidro 38

San Isidro 51, Hebbronville 42

Friday’s Games

Non-District

McAllen High 67, Edinburg High 48

District 32-6A

Harlingen South 58, Brownsville Hanna 56

Los Fresnos 77, Weslaco East 42

Harlingen High 68, Weslaco High 66

Brownsville Rivera 48, San Benito 43

District 31-5A

Sharyland Pioneer 49, Valley View 39

Rio Grande City 60, Mission Veterans 55

Laredo Nixon 75, Sharyland High 38

Saturday, Dec. 30

Kingsville Tournament

Gregory-Portland 56, San Perlita 53

Corpus Christi Carroll 72, San Perlita 65

Non-District

Grulla 73, Edinburg IDEA Quest 47

Lasara at Monte Alto, not reported

District 30-6A

McAllen Rowe 54, La Joya Juraez-Lincoln 46

McAllen Memorial 55, La Joya Palmview 37

La Joya High 50, Mission High 37

District 31-5A

Laredo Cigarroa 64, Laredo Martin 63

District 32-5A

Donna High 57, Brownsville Lopez 52

Edcouch-Elsa 42, Brownsville Veterans 34

Brownsville Pace 76, Mercedes 39

Brownsville Porter at Donna North, not reported

Tuesday, Jan. 2

District 30-6A

La Joya Palmview at La Joya Juarez-Lincoln, 2:30 p.m.

McAllen High at La Joya High, 2:30 p.m.

Mission High at McAllen Memorial, 2:30 p.m.

District 31-6A

PSJA High at Edinburg High, 1 p.m.

Edinburg North at Edinburg Economedes, 1 p.m.

Edinburg Vela at PSJA Memorial, 1 p.m.

PSJA Southwest at PSJA North, 1 p.m.

District 32-6A

Los Fresnos at Brownsville Hanna, 2 p.m.

Weslaco East at Harlingen High, 2 p.m.

Brownsville Rivera at Weslaco High, 2 p.m.

District 31-5A

Mission Veterans at Sharyland High, 2:30 p.m.

Sharyland Pioneer at Laredo Martin, 3 p.m.

Laredo Cigarroa at Roma, 7 p.m.

Laredo Nixon at Valley View, 7 p.m.

District 32-5A

Mercedes at Edcouch-Elsa, 1 p.m.

Brownsville Pace at Donna North, 6 p.m.

Donna High at Brownsville Porter, 6 p.m.

Brownsville Veterans at Brownsville Lopez, 1 p.m.

District 32-4A

Port Isabel at Grulla, 8 p.m.

Hidalgo at Raymondville, 1 p.m.

La Feria at Progreso, 8 p.m.

Non-District

HOPE Academy at Lasara, noon

San Isidro at Benavides. 2 p.m.

Friday, Jan. 5

District 30-6A

McAllen Rowe at La Joya Palmview, 7:30 p.m.

La Joya Juarez-Lincoln at Mission High, 7:30 p.m.

McAllen Memorial at McAllen High, 7:30 p.m.

District 31-6A

Edinburg High at Edinburg North, 1 p.m.

PSJA Memorial at PSJA High, 1 p.m.

PSJA North at Edinburg Vela, 1 p.m.

Edinburg Economedes at PSJA Southwest, 1 p.m.

District 32-6A

Harlingen High at Los Fresnos, 6 p.m.

Brownsville Rivera at Weslaco East, 6 p.m.

Weslaco High at Harlingen South, 6 p.m.

District 31-5A

Roma at Sharyland Pioneer, 7 p.m.

Valley View at Mission Veterans, 7 p.m.

Laredo Nixon at Laredo Martin, 7:30 p.m.

Sharyland High at Rio Grande City, 7 p.m.

District 32-5A

Edcouch-Elsa at Brownsville Pace, 1 p.m.

Brownsville Lopez at Mercedes, 6 p.m.

Donna North at Donna High, 6 p.m.

Brownsville Porter at Brownsville Veterans, 6 p.m.

District 32-4A

Grulla at Hidalgo, 8 p.m.

Progreso at Port Isabel, 8 p.m.

Non-District

Monte Alto at IDEA Weslaco, 7:30 p.m.

Lasara at Brownville Frontier, TBA

Bruni at San Isidro, 2 p.m.

VALLEY HIGH SCHOOL BOYS BASKETBALL BOX SCORES

Saturday’s Game

District 30-6A

McALLEN MEMORIAL 55, LA JOYA PALMVIEW 37

McAllen Memorial 8 13 16 18 — 55

La Joya Palmview 14 7 12 4 — 37

McALLEN MEMORIAL (55): Chris Flores 22, Chris Melendez 20, Josh Sanchez 7, Elian Reyna 4, Miguel Fuentes 2.

LA JOYA PALMVIEW (37): Dante Olmeda 8, Gabriel Garza 9, Irving Gamez 7, Alan Zarate 10, Paco De La O 3.

RECORDS: McAllen Memorial 1-0; La Joya Palmview 0-1.

District 32-5A

DONNA HIGH 57, BROWNSVILLE LOPEZ 52

Brownsville Lopez 15 2 15 20 — 52

Donna High 7 15 17 17 — 57

DONNA HIGH (57): Alex Sanchez 12, Derik Medrano 11, Eric Garza 10, Anthony Moreno 21, Kobi Soto 2.

RECORDS: Donna High 1-0; Brownsville Lopez 0-1.

VALLEY HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL SCHEDULE

Dec. 27-29

Thursday’s Games

Non-District

La Joya High 54, PSJA High 52

PSJA North at Brownsville Pace, not reported

Falfurrias Tournament

Thursday’s Games

Lyford 59, San Isidro 38

San Isidro 51, Hebbronville 42

Friday’s Games

Non-District

McAllen High 67, Edinburg High 48

District 32-6A

Harlingen South 58, Brownsville Hanna 56

Los Fresnos 77, Weslaco East 42

Harlingen High 68, Weslaco High 66

Brownsville Rivera 48, San Benito 43

District 31-5A

Sharyland Pioneer 49, Valley View 39

Rio Grande City 60, Mission Veterans 55

Laredo Nixon 75, Sharyland High 38

District 32-5A

Brownsville Lopez at Donna High, not reported

Saturday, Dec. 30

Non-District

Edinburg IDEA Quest at Grulla, noon

Lasara at Monte Alto, 11:30 a.m.

District 30-6A

La Joya Juarez-Lincoln at McAllen Rowe, 2:30 p.m.

La Joya High at Mission High, 2:30 p.m.

McAllen Memorial at La Joya Palmview, 2:30 p.m.

District 31-5A

Laredo Martin at Laredo Cigarroa, 3 p.m.

District 32-5A

Edcouch-Elsa at Brownsville Veterans, 2:30 p.m.

Mercedes at Brownsville Pace, 2:30 p.m.

Brownsville Porter at Donna North, 2:30 p.m.

Tuesday, Jan. 2

District 30-6A

La Joya Palmview at La Joya Juarez-Lincoln, 2:30 p.m.

McAllen High at La Joya High, 2:30 p.m.

Mission High at McAllen Memorial, 2:30 p.m.

District 31-6A

PSJA High at Edinburg High, 1 p.m.

Edinburg North at Edinburg Economedes, 1 p.m.

Edinburg Vela at PSJA Memorial, 1 p.m.

PSJA Southwest at PSJA North, 6 p.m.

District 32-6A

Los Fresnos at Brownsville Hanna, 2 p.m.

Weslaco East at Harlingen High, 2 p.m.

Brownsville Rivera at Weslaco High, 2 p.m.

District 31-5A

Laredo Cigarroa at Roma, 7 p.m.

Sharyland Pioneer at Laredo Martin, 3 p.m.

Mission Veterans at Sharyland High, 2:30 p.m.

Laredo Nixon at Valley View, 7 p.m.

District 32-5A

Mercedes at Edcouch-Elsa, 1 p.m.

Brownsville Pace at Donna North, 6 p.m.

Donna High at Brownsville Porter, 6 p.m.

Brownsville Veterans at Brownsville Lopez, 1 p.m.

District 32-4A

Port Isabel at Grulla, 8 p.m.

Hidalgo at Raymondville, 1 p.m.

La Feria at Progreso, 8 p.m.

Non-District

HOPE Academy at Lasara, noon

San Isidro at Benavides. 2 p.m.

Friday, Jan. 5

District 30-6A

McAllen Rowe at La Joya Palmview, 7:30 p.m.

La Joya Juarez-Lincoln at Mission High, 7:30 p.m.

McAllen Memorial at McAllen High, 7:30 p.m.

District 31-6A

Edinburg High at Edinburg North, 1 p.m.

PSJA Memorial at PSJA High, 1 p.m.

PSJA North at Edinburg Vela, 1 p.m.

Edinburg Economedes at PSJA Southwest, 1 p.m.

District 32-6A

Harlingen High at Los Fresnos, 6 p.m.

Brownsville Rivera at Weslaco East, 6 p.m.

Weslaco High at Harlingen South, 6 p.m.

District 31-5A

Roma at Sharyland Pioneer, 7 p.m.

Valley View at Mission Veterans, 7 p.m.

Laredo Nixon at Laredo Martin, 7:30 p.m.

Sharyland High at Rio Grande City, 7 p.m.

District 32-5A

Edcouch-Elsa at Brownsville Pace, 1 p.m.

Brownsville Lopez at Mercedes, 6 p.m.

Donna North at Donna High, 6 p.m.

Brownsville Porter at Brownsville Veterans, 6 p.m.

District 32-4A

Grulla at Hidalgo, 8 p.m.

Progreso at Port Isabel, 8 p.m.

Non-District

Monte Alto at IDEA Weslaco, 7:30 p.m.

Lasara at Brownville Frontier, TBA

Bruni at San Isidro, 2 p.m.

VALLEY HIGH SCHOOL BOYS BASKETBALL BOX SCORES

Friday’s Games

Non-district

McALLEN HIGH 67, EDINBURG HIGH 48

McAllen High 14 8 23 22 — 67

Edinburg High 10 18 6 14 — 48

McALLEN HIGH (67): Bryan Argil 31, Matthew Ibarra 10, DeShaun Primus 14, Jackson Helmcamp 4, Jaden Conrow 8.

EDINBURG HIGH (48): Antoine Woodard 19, Jesus Cantu 10, Damian Garcia 7, Marc Figureroa 5, Jorge Hernandez 5, Matt Cruz 2.

RECORDS: McAllen High 10-10.

District 31-5A

RIO GRANDE CITY 60, MISSION VETERANS 55

Rio Grande City 20 12 13 15 — 60

Mission Veterans 10 15 17 13 — 55

RIO GRANDE CITY (60): Rodrigo Nunez 18, Frank Gonzalez 13, Aaron Maroquin 10, Jamie Covarrubias 10, Mario Gonzalez 5, Izarel Lambert 2, Josh Garcia 2.

MISSION VETERANS (55): Noe Cantu 17, Elijah de la Garza 15, Elias Ibarra 11, Josh Acosta 7, Landry Gilpin 3, J.T. Lerma 2.

RECORDS: Rio Grande City 2-3; Mission Veterans 1-3.

SHARYLAND PIONEER 49, VALLEY VIEW 39

Valley View 10 10 8 11 — 39

Sharyland Pioneer 17 3 15 14 — 49

SHARYLAND PIONEER (49): Luke Padilla 11, Geo Garza 9, Miguel Angel Gonzalez 7, Ethan Lee 6, Aaron Cuevas 5, Eddie Marburger 5, Tyler Kennedy 2.

VALLEY VIEW (39): E. Ayala 9, A. Fuentes 10, E. Jiminez 10, D. Ortegon 4, A. Sepulveda 4, I. Lira 2.

RECORDS: Sharyland Pioneer 2-3; Valley View 0-4.

BY SAUL BERRIOS-THOMAS | THE MONITOR

EDINBURG — Edinburg North has played Brownsville Pace three times this year.

The Cougars lost the first two, but when the two teams met last Saturday in the final of the City of Palms Tournament at McAllen Rowe, it was North that got the upper hand.

Since then, the Cougars beat a very tough La Joya High team in overtime and opened District 31-6A with a win over PSJA North.

The Cougars have won five straight, and they have won eight of their last nine games.

“We are starting to get a lot of our players back,” North coach Rudy Garcia said. “We had a lot of injuries. But, the kids have been stepping up and playing well, especially this past tournament. We had a lot of guys in the second group playing.”

The contribution off the bench was huge for the Cougars, who have been shuffling the lineup to accommodate the steady stream of injuries and trickle in of football players finally getting healthy.

“What is clicking for us right now is a lot of bench players hitting shots off the bench,” senior guard Ben Vela said. “We just stick together. Good team chemistry.”

Vela was one of the players to shoulder the extra workload. He is a reliable shooter who averages 4.2 points and 1.3 rebounds per game. He has had to do a bit more in recent games, as the team has continued to recover.

He even picked up a black eye in the final against Pace.

Just as with Pace, North lost a game to McAllen Rowe earlier this year, but in the tournament this weekend they also exacted revenge against the Warriors.

It’s not just the wins starting to add up for the Cougars, they have played some of the best competition in the Valley.

“Like I said we had a lot of injuries, we were starting different lineups every game,” Garcia said. “But I purposely had a very tough schedule. We played Alexander, Rowe, Los Fresnos, people like that. We took our lumps, but I kept telling the boys ‘every time we play, it’s a team that is going to make us better for district.’”

That mentality has definitely spread to Garcia’s players. Junior guard Andrew Nunez is averaging 11.6 points per game. Nunez also averages 5.5 rebounds and 2.9 assists. Having played in 19 games this year, Nunez has seen the improvement of late, but he also lived through the tough start.

“We were just trying to stay positive,” Nunez said. “Most of us, at times, we get down and we get fed up. We are here to help each other, knowing we are playing tough teams to get ready for district. We just stay positive, keep working and in the end we will be on top.”

The Cougars are young, typically starting only one or two seniors, while surrounding them with sophomores and juniors.

Along with Vela and Nunez, very few other Cougars got varsity experience last year. Junior forward Ricky Alaniz, sophomore forward Izaiah Rangel and senior forward Josias Vasquez all played varsity last year. Rangel and Vasquez share the post duties.

Rangel played for the Cougars football team in the fall. An injury forced him to miss the last few games, but it also allowed him to get onto the basketball team a bit quicker than the other football players. Rangel used that advantage to excel on the court.

“It took him a couple of weeks to get into basketball mode,” Garcia said. “He’s been doing really well. He’s a big part of our team. He’s a big guy inside for us, and he can play outside also.”

Rangel is averaging 10.3 points, a team-high 6.9 rebounds, 1.3 assists, 1.5 steals, and 1.7 blocks per game.

While many of the Cougars’ injuries were not major this year, there was one blow that hurt. Junior point guard Noah Chavana suffered a knee injury that will keep him out for the rest of the season at least. Chavana’s slick ball-handling skills will be missed, as will his leadership and experience on the court.

“It’s kind of tough because he was one of our main passers,” Rangel said. “He would dish the ball. But since he’s been out we have had to adjust.”

Still there is no denying that the Cougars are improving. That improvement coincides with the return to almost full health, which coincidentally is coming at the same time that the team will get a UIL-mandated five-day break.

“We are a great team and every day we are working,” Nunez said. “Our mentality is to come back. After we take an ‘L,’ we are like ‘alright now, let’s come back and work harder and get them back.’ We had the opportunity in the tournament, and we showed them that we are here to stay and that we are here to play.”

[email protected]

VALLEY HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL SCHEDULE
Thursday, Dec. 21
Non-District
San Isidro 64, Riviera-Kaufer 61
District 31-5A
Laredo Nixon 64, Rio Grande City 61

Friday, Dec. 22
Non-District
McAllen Rowe 63, Corpus Christi Miller 50
District 31-6A
Edinburg Economedes 70, PSJA High 63
Edinburg Vela 95, PSJA Southwest 46
Edinburg High 53, PSJA Memorial 46
Edinburg North 64, PSJA North 50
District 31-5A
Sharyland Pioneer 60, Sharyland High 35
Laredo Cigarroa 92, Valley View 51
Laredo Martin 90, Roma 70

VALLEY HIGH SCHOOL BOYS BASKETBALL BOX SCORES
Friday’s Game
District 31-6A
EDINBURG ECONOMEDES 70, PSJA HIGH 63
Economedes 28 17 14 11 — 70
PSJA High 11 12 24 16 — 63
EDINBURG ECONOMEDES (70): Simon Pina 17, Angel Salinas 14, Saul Alanis 14, Johnathan Barrientos 12, Aizar Cavazos 6, Ricardo Chapa 6.
PSJA HIGH (63): Isaiah Garcia 24, Andrew Casas 10, Robbie Garza 9, A.J. Padron 7,Nathan Sanchez 6, Ryan Garza 5, Andrew Lizst 2.

EDINBURG VELA 95, PSJA SOUTHWEST 46
PSJA Southwest 8 17 11 10 — 46
Edinburg Vela 18 29 24 24 — 95
EDINBURG VELA (95): Matthew Arteaga 10, Noah Sekinger 23, Trey Chavana 4, JD Velazquez 7, Nate Gomez 6, Austin 3, Jeremy Rodriguez 6, Jordan de la Rosa 6, Aziel Garcia 4, Bobby Espericueta 10, Josh Diaz 3, Nate Garcia 4, Harim Diaz 7, Vince Olivarez 2.
PSJA SOUTHWEST (46): Raul Jimenez 4, Derek Cedillo 12, Rolando Cedillo 7, Orlando Torres 12, Marco Ramos 7, Eddie Zuniga 2, Freddy Leon 2.

Thursday’s Game
District 31-5A
LAREDO NIXON 64, RIO GRANDE CITY 61
Laredo Nixon 18 16 25 5 — 64
Rio Grande City 15 17 16 13 — 61
LAREDO NIXON (64): LJ Herrera 11, AJ Melendez 23, Ricky Munoz 3, Joel Pena 13, Joseph Garcia 3, Martin Tovar 2, Roger Vasquez 9.
RIO GRANDE CITY (#): Rodrigo Nunez 23, Aaron Marroquin 6, Jaime Covarrubias 10, Frank Gonzalez 7, Mario Gonzalez 3, Izrael Lambert 10, Rudy Bazan 2.

BY SAUL BERRIOS-THOMAS | THE MONITOR

MISSION — Sharyland Pioneer is starting two freshmen and three sophomores.

District 31-5A did the Diamondbacks no favors by being a nine-team district that started district play in mid-December. Still, Pioneer is starting to blossom, and a new year may indeed bring the Diamondbacks a new look that is ready to compete.

The upstart Diamondbacks beat the rival Sharyland High Rattlers 60-35 on Friday at Sharyland High School.

“It feels good, to be honest with you,” Pioneer coach Rene Gonzalez said. “Every time we play Sharyland it’s always a rivalry. We had some close ones where I think we should have got them, but God had other plans, but it feels good to go into the Christmas break with this one. I still believe my team can make a little playoff run.”

That playoff push will be led by the young guns leading the team. Friday’s game was an example of how they are able to take over games.

Sophomore center Lavar Lindo got the Diamondbacks rolling, scoring 9 first-half points en route to a 15-point game.

Sharyland High didn’t have the size to matchup with Lindo on the inside, and he rewarded many of his teammates’ passes with easy layups.

Lindo also did a good job of drawing contact on the interior, and he made the Rattlers pay, going 5 for 6 from the charity stripe.

“I am getting really comfortable on the court, especially with this environment, the team I am playing with,” Lindo said. “We have known each other for a long time, so we have had the chemistry since day one.”

Freshman Eddie Marburger grew up playing with Lindo as well as several other Diamondbacks on different travel teams.

“The chemistry is huge,” Marburger said. “With that chemistry, it just feels like we can’t be beat.”

Eddie Marburger — who is named after his grandfather Rio Grande Valley Sports Hall of Famer Eddie Marburger, and is the cousin of McAllen Memorial’s Taylor and Sydney Marburger — scored 7 points on Friday.

“He is very polished,” Gonzalez said of the younger Eddie Marburger. “That’s what happens when you go play in different cities during the summer. He’s an all around player, so that’s what he does.”

Marburger has the makings of a great basketball player. He has a knack for the ball and he is a reliable decision maker on the court.

“He can do it all,” Gonzalez said. “He’s just a freshman. He’s still learning. He just came back from football and he has been hurt a little bit, but he is getting better everyday.”

Marburger and Lindo are two pieces of the young Diamondbacks’ attack. They have a lot of upside and they both say they are just hitting their stride.

Alongside them are sophomore Ethan Lee, who had 5 points against Sharyland High, freshman Miguel Angel Gonzalez who scored 8 and sophomore Luke Padilla who netted 4.

“We lost a close one to (Mission) Vets last Friday,” Gonzalez said. “I think we should have got it. We started off bad, but you know what, it’s a learning experience. We just have to learn from it. Learn every single day. We have to take something away from that game and grow into a better team and try to make a run into the playoffs if we can. … For now, we get five days off. We get them back on the 28th, then the 29th we play Valley View at home.”

While the team may be young, they are not too busy with Christmas celebrations to be looking past Valley View.

“We will be ready to go,” Lindo said. “We are looking forward to it, and we will be trying to pick up another ‘w.’”

[email protected]

VALLEY HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL SCHEDULE

Tuesday, Dec. 19

Non-Disrtict

PSJA Memorial 66, Donna North 28

McAllen High 67, Edcouch-Elsa 46

La Joya Juarez-Lincoln 57, PSJA High 48

Edinburg High 59, La Joya Palmview 40

Edinburg North 52, La Joya High 47, OT

Lasara 58, Edinburg IDEA Quest 42

Los Fresnos 77, Edinburg Vela 44

Brownsville Porter 69, McAllen Memorial 63

La Villa 64, Monte Alto 34

Brownsville Hanna 63, PSJA Southwest 25

Donna High at PSJA North, not reported

Edinburg Economedes at San Benito, not reported

District 31-5A

Rio Grande City 63, Sharyland Pioneer 45

Roma 55, Valley View 36

Laredo Nixon 85, Mission Veterans 35

Laredo Cigarroa 78, Sharyland High 41

District 32-4A

Raymondville 64, Grulla 52

Hidalgo 71, Rio Hondo 65

Zapata 71, Progreso 30

Port Isabel 35, La Feria 29

Thursday, Dec. 21

Non-District

Riviera-Kaufer at San Isidro, 1 p.m.

PSJA North at Brownsville Pace, 7:30 p.m.

District 31-5A

Laredo Nixon at Rio Grande City, 7 p.m.

Friday, Dec. 22

Non-District

Corpus Christi Miller at McAllen Rowe, 5 p.m.

Brownsville Porter at Mission High, 7:30 p.m.

District 31-6A

Edinburg Economedes at PSJA High, 3 p.m.

Edinburg High at PSJA Memorial, 6 p.m.

PSJA North at Edinburg North, 6 p.m.

PSJA Southwest at Edinburg Vela, 6 p.m.

District 31-5A

Roma at Laredo Martin, 7 p.m.

Sharyland Pioneer at Sharyland High, 7 p.m.

Laredo Cigarroa at Valley View, 7 p.m.

VALLEY HIGH SCHOOL BOYS BASKETBALL BOX SCORES

Tuesday’s Games

Non-District

PSJA MEMORIAL 66, DONNA NOTH 28

Donna North 11 6 4 7 — 28

PSJA Memorial 19 19 13 15 — 66

PSJA MEMORIAL (66): Jared Koenig 24, Victor Salgado 10, J.D. Chavez 9, Horacio Cisneros 4, David Garner 4, Pedro Ozuna 4, Ray Salinas 4, Nick Cisneros 2, Jorge Molina 2.

DONNA NORTH (28): Julian Garza 18, C.J. Castillo 4, Jaime Martinez 2, Luis Diaz 2, Jose Casas 2.

RECORDS: PSJA Memorial 13-4

MCALLEN HIGH 67, EDCOUCH ELSA 46

Edcouch Elsa 7 9 10 20 — 46

McAllen High 14 12 15 26 — 67

MCALLEN HIGH (67): Aaron Gutierrez 4, Marcos Saldana 2, Matthew Ibarra 3, Deshaun Primus 9, Jackson Helmcamp 7, Rick Cuellar 6, Bryan Argil 21, Jaden Conrow 15.

EDCOUCH ELSA (46): Jeremiah Caballero 11, Aaron Aguinaga 5, Bryan Guerra 7, Joseph Gonzalez 11, Philip Rendon 7, Marcos Escobar 5.

RECORDS: McAllen High 9-10

EDINBURG NORTH 52, LA JOYA HIGH 47 OT

La Joya High 9 14 11 8 5 — 47

Edinburg North 16 9 10 7 10 — 52

EDINBURG NORTH (52): Andrew Nunez 20, Felix Aleman 8, Izaiah Rangel 8, Juan Vasquez 5, Ben Vela 2, Cesar Noyola 3, Josias Vasquez 2, Dimitri Pardo 4.

LA JOYA HIGH (47): Nick Garza 2, Ojay Saenz 2, Jon Martinez 8, Alex Villarreal 11, Carlos Montelongo 8, Juztin Pulido 16.

RECORDS: Edinburg North 13-9

EDINBURG HIGH 59, LA JOYA PALMVIEW 40
La Joya Palmview 4 11 12 13 — 40
Edinburg High 16 12 15 16 — 59
EDINBURG HIGH (59): Marc Figueroa 8, Damian Garcia 10, Matthew Cruz 4, John Carranco 2, Antoine Woodard 16, Jalen Lee 9, Jesus Cantu 10.
LA JOYA PALMVIEW (40): Dante Olmeda 9, Freddie Flores 4, Gabriel Garza 3, Paco De La O 24.

BROWNSVILLLE HANNA 63, PSJA SOUTHWEST 25
Brownsville Hanna 8 14 23 18 — 63
PSJA Southwest 7 3 8 7 — 25
BROWNSVILLE HANNA (63): Jason Garcia 4, Matthew Lopez 5, Noe Martinez 2, Jesus Huerta 2, Fernie Camacho 7, Victor Campos 8, Jaime Rucoba 6, Noah Armstrong 28, Alonzo Cordona 5.
PSJA SOUTHWEST (25): Marco Ramos 17, Rolando Cedillo 2, Freddy Leon 2, Jerry Guillen 2, Orlando Torres 2.

District 31-5A

RIO GRANDE CITY 63, PIONEER 45

Rio Grande 16 12 14 21 — 63

Pioneer 6 18 10 11 — 45

RIO GRANDE (63): Rodrigo Nunez 12, Aaron Maruqin 9, Jaime Corarrandias 6, Frank Gonzalez 11, Mario Gonzalez 10, Israel Lamberg 11, Josh Garcia 4.

PIONEER (45): Mourico Ramiro 4, Miguel Angel Gonzalez 9, Luck Padilla 15, Aaron Cuvaz 4, Eddie Marburger 6, Ethan Lee 2, Geo Garza 1, Lavar Lindo 4.

RECORDS: Pioneer 7-10

ROMA 55, VALLEY VIEW 36

Valley View 8 7 9 12 — 36

Roma 4 14 26 11 — 55

ROMA (55): Armando Rodriguez 4, Gilberto Garcia 12, Dario Gonzalez 7, Miguel Olivarez 3, Edgar Ayala 3, Edward Garza 2, Leonardo Alanis 16, Cesar Contreras 4, Noe Garza Jr. 2, Carlos Rios 2.

VALLEY VIEW (36): Felipe Ayala 17, Isaac Lira 3, Jose Solis 6, Alan Fuentes 5, Edgar Jimenez 4, Andy Sepulveda 1.

District 32-4A

HIDALGO 71, RIO HONDO 65

Rio Hondo 15 12 12 26 — 65

Hidalgo 15 17 22 17 — 71

HIDALGO (71): Andy Flores 18, Aaron Anaya 7, Alexis Gonzalez 12, Gus Sanchez 12, Frankie Sanchez 7, Tony Frias 4, Saul Arjona 5, Carlos Zuniga 4.

RIO HONDO (65): Larry West 2, Oscar Capello 8, Andrew Resendez 20, Jabez Villarreal 22, Daniel Garcia 5, Christine Caballero 8.

RECORDS: Hidalgo 12-6

BY SAUL BERRIOS-THOMAS | THE MONITOR

SAN JUAN — Coming into 2017 with a senior-laden team, La Joya Juarez-Lincoln set some goals.

The top three: win the city championship, make the playoffs and win the district title; all of which would be firsts for the school.

Last year’s 15-20 overall record and 2-9 District 30-6A record may not have elicited confidence in those goals, but once the Huskies got rolling this year, the expectations started to grow and those goals didn’t feel so far off anymore.

“(Our season opening win over) PSJA North gave us a lot of confidence,” senior guard Cruz Mendoza said. “From there, the confidence was really high and we just wanted to win and win. That’s all we cared about, just winning. It feels good to win especially during our senior year. That’s all we want to do.”

The team that was accustomed to not winning much after 2016, suddenly had turned a corner, and the Huskies didn’t lose in their first 10 contests.

“I felt like our team was getting too confident going into games,” coach Albert Carrillo said. “So, I kept telling our coaching staff, ‘we are going to have to lose so that we can learn how to win again.’ I felt like they were getting too cocky. When it happened, it took us two games to bounce back, but then we picked it up again.”

Now back to their winning ways, the Huskies (15-4) started hot and ended hot on Tuesday night.

They were victorious in a non-district tilt with the PSJA High Bears, 57-48, at PSJA High School, thanks in large part to the quality shots that they hit.

“We have a point guard, Cruz, a down-low presence, (senior) Luis (Garza), and then I surround them with shooters. That’s what I tell these guys.”

The huskies hit nine threes on the night, many of them coming in a dominant third quarter that went to Juarez-Lincoln 22-12.

“We have been shooting very well,” Mendoza, who finished with 13 points, said. “That’s what we practice most of the time. That and ball movement. Coach always tells us to find the extra pass. That’s what we did tonight.”

Juarez-Lincoln senior forward Lalo Torres lit up the score sheet, finishing the night with 20 points.

Torres scored 15 combined points off the bench in the second and third quarters, before adding five in the fourth.

Torres was just half the story of the dominant Huskies’ second half. Garza started off a little slow, but exploded for eight points in the second half. He was also a menace on the boards, often getting the Huskies second- and third-chance opportunities.

“We wanted to get him going in the beginning, but he got a little frustrated,” Mendoza said of Garza. “We got him going, told him it was going to be OK and he got it going and played well. … It feels good for him to get our back because he’s our biggest body out there. We feel good about having him going out there.”

Mendoza, meanwhile, was swarmed by the quick guards of the Bears and had to look for creative ways to find room. On several occasions he would dive into the lane before pulling up for a jumper near the elbow. His speed beat his perimeter defenders and his sharp brakes allowed for a cushion from the post defenders.

“He makes my job easier,” Carrillo said. “He’s like a coach out there on the court, and he does a very good job. He’s a four-year letterman and he is expected to do all of the things he does.”

The Huskies started the game hot, while PSJA took some time to get rolling. Juarez-Lincoln opened up a 10-2 lead in the first quarter, before the Bears righted the ship with a 14-0 run bridging the first two quarters. PSJA senior guard Robby Garza had the hot hand, scoring 9 first-half points. On the other side, the silky smooth handles of Mendoza steadied the Huskies. The Bears took a 23-21 edge to the locker rooms at halftime.

For Juarez-Lincoln, Luis Garza finished with 8 points, and seniors JR Galvan and Andre Suarez each added 7 points.

The Bears leading scorer was Robby Garza with 13. Junior Andrew Liszt added 9 points, while senior Nathan Sanchez tallied 8.

The Huskies have their goals in mind, but there is only one that Carillo is focused on.

“We haven’t even made the playoffs,” Carrillo said. “Those are our goals, win the city championship and make the playoffs. But, our primary goal is to compete for the district title.”

Still, the kids who have grown up playing against their sister schools and those players are anxious to earn those bragging rights.

“We take that very personal,” Mendoza said. “We really want to win the championship from them three schools. I think we have a very good chance, we just have to play hard and play smart.”

[email protected]

BY TJ GARCIA | SPECIAL TO THE MONITOR

McALLEN — For many RGV volleyball players, getting a chance to compete on the collegiate level is a big goal.

For Edinburg Vela product Maranda Washington, it’s mission accomplished and more. A lot more. The 5-foot-1 libero just wrapped up the season helping lead her Austin-based Huston-Tillotson University Lady Rams to their best campaign ever.

The 21-9 Lady Rams advanced to the Red River Conference (NAIA) volleyball championship game for the first time before finally bowing out to Our Lady of the Lake. What’s more, Washington was named first team all-conference and led her teamwith 440 digs in 105 sets played.

Washington, who started at H-T with new coach Dan Behnke in 2015, said every year the Lady Rams would meet before the season and set goals – and she had fun accomplishing them. H-T was 5-25 the year before Washington and Behnke arrived.

“My first year, we made it to the conference tournament and appeared in the semifinals,” the junior said. “My second year, we made it once again, and now my third year we made it all the way to the championship game with an outstanding record as well.”

Washington was a multi-year all-district player at Vela (and also played basketball and ran track), and she played with the RGV Juniors club team. At Huston-Tillotson, she was an all-conference every year, steadily getting better with time. Her freshman year, Washington achieved honorable mention, as a sophomore second team all-conference and then first team this season.

Washington recorded 1062 digs in her three-year collegiate career. She said many folks have had a hand in her success, including her parents, high school coaches and her coaches at H-T.

“I started playing volleyball in third grade,” Washington said. “My cousin Cassandra Treviño, who played for UTPA, was my role model growing up. So, you can definitely say I’ve always been determined to play at the college level.”

The NAIA Red River conference is littered with volleyball players from the RGV at schools like OLLU, Wiley and others. Washington said it made her happy to hear the names of RGV players announced before games, and added that it was a sign that the Valley’s level of play is improving.

For the junior, however, it will be the last time her name will be called. Washington is leaving H-T and volleyball to focus on academics. She is transferring (has not finalized school) to finish her undergraduate work as a chemistry major with hopes of entering a pharmacy program

LA FERIA’S SIERRA RUNNING HARD AT TEXAS STATE

Former La Feria cross country runner Tina Sierra did her best to contribute as a freshman at Texas State. Sierra is on the Bobcats squad that won its first conference title in more than 20 years as it took home the Sun Belt Cross Country championship last fall.

Sierra, who earned a bronze metal at the UIL state track meet last spring in the 1,600-meter run, placed 45th among 81 runners in the Sun Belt meet, and she was sixth among her Bobcat teammates in the 6K race. The title automatically qualified Texas State for the NCAA D1 Regionals, and Sierra recorded a personal best 22:45.5 for 127th place among 176 runners. Texas State finished 13th among 24 teams.

McHI’s HOVER NAMED TOP QB IN CONFERNCE

The D-III American Southwest Conference named Southwestern junior quarterback Frederick Hover to its all-conference first team. Hover, a 5-foot-9, 190-pound McHi grad, threw for 1,865 yards and 16 touchdowns (112-202, 55 percent completion rate) to just four interceptions in the 2017 season – his first as a full-time starter.

The ASC is loaded with stout teams including national runner-up Mary Hardin-Baylor and highly-ranked Hardin-Simons of Abilene. Still, Southwestern managed to finish the season at 6-4, and Hover shined much of the year. The junior also rushed for 1,100 yards and 14 touchdowns. The signal caller even had one touchdown receiving.

MEMORIAL’S DE LA GARZA AT LE TOURNEAU

Former McAllen Memorial Mustang Gina De La Garza is doing just fine at a university in Texas that hardly anyone has heard of – even though its in Longview and has a rich and proud tradition. Le Tourneau University is a D-III school with more than 2,000 students and 17 intercollegiate sports including soccer.

That’s where De La Garza is making a name for herself as a tough defender who can even score every once in a while. The former all-district captain from McAllen Memorial appeared in 15 games and scored one goal on five shots. The 5-foot-2 sophomore is a defender for the Yellowjackets.

DONNA’S MARINA MARTINEZ BEST IN RED RIVER ATHLETIC CONFERENCE, REGION

Our Lady of the Lake University libero Marina Martinez was named volleyball defensive specialist of the year by the Red River Athletic Conference. Martinez, a junior from Donna High, was voted by the coaches as the conference’s best defensive player after racking up 478 digs (third most in school history) and directing the Saints’ defense.

And she wasn’t done. The American Volleyball Coaches Association named Martinez, a 5-foot-5 Prairie View University transfer, to the NAIA South Central all-region first team. OLLU Coach Jeremiah Tiffin and four other OLLU players picked up regional accolades as well. OLLU went 24-11 over all and 14-0 in RRAC play in 2017.

Know an RGV athlete doing well at the collegiate level in any sport? Send us a tip at gluca@ themonitor.com.

RGVSports.com

The Associated Press released its annual All-State teams Sunday and two La Villa Players made the list.

Junior linebacker Bryan Hinojosa made the All-State First-Team Defense. This season, Hinojosa had 163 tackles, 105 solo tackles, 5 tackles for loss, 3 sacks, 2 fumbles caused and 2 interceptions.

Sophomore defensive lineman Roman Guerrero made the All-State Honorable Mention Defensive Team. Guerrero had 47 solo tackles, 78 total tackles, 16 tackles for loss, 12 sacks, 2 caused fumbles and 1 fumble recovery.

La Villa went 4-7 overall and 3-1 in District 16-2A DI. The Cardinals made it to the playoff, where they faced off with Yorktown in the bi-district round. The Cardinals ultimately came up short, 51-14, in their quest for a playoff win.