When District 31-6A foes La Joya High and PSJA North met earlier this season, it took a buzzer-beater 3-pointer from near half court to decide a winner as the Raiders ended up on top of a thriller.
This time around, there were no late game dramatics as the La Joya Coyotes fought off the Raiders 62-48 to win a crucial matchup between district title hopefuls Tuesday.
A second-half surge carried the Coyotes to victory as La Joya outscored PSJA North 36-16 during the third and fourth quarters. Big man Bernie Vera led La Joya with 21 points, while guard Cesar Villarreal added 17 as the pair sparked the Coyotes’ offense.
PSJA North guard Elijah De La Garza, who drilled the buzzer-beating game-winner over La Joya in their first matchup, scored a team-high 19 to lead the Raiders.
La Joya (16-2, 8-1) has now won eight straight games and will look to build on its District 31-6A lead when the Coyotes take on Edinburg North at 7 p.m. Tuesday in La Joya.
PSJA North (8-6, 6-3) will look to bounce back when it travels to face the Cougars at 7 p.m. Friday in Edinburg.
DISTRICT 30-5A TIPS OFF
Rio Grande City came through with a 60-51 victory over rival Roma as District 30-5A tipped off league competition Tuesday night. Eliud Alaniz led the way for the Rattlers with a game-high 20 points, while Jose Gomez and Dennis Treviño added 13 and 12 points apiece, respectively. The Gladiators had three scorers in double-figures in Mario Bazan (14 points), Allen Perez (13) and Rick Hernandez (12).
Mission Veterans welcomed Laredo Martin for its district opener, but the Tigers walked away with a tight 58-56 win over the Patriots. Jacob Arenas and AJ Gonzaque poured in 20 points each for the Patriots, but Martin outscored Mission Veterans 18-12 over the final eight minutes to pull out the two-point victory. The win was Laredo Martin’s first of the season.
NORTH MISSION IDEA DROPS 94
The North Mission IDEA Warriors have had no problems putting points on the scoreboard this season, and that was the case again Tuesday night as the Warriors rolled to a 94-36 win over Edinburg IDEA Quest.
North Mission’s Manuel Bejarano and Alfonso Palmeros spearheaded the scoring onslaught with 21 points each, while Adrian Garcia and Michael Macias also finished in double digits.
The win sends the Warriors to 8-0 overall in District 31-3A play. North Mission IDEA (10-3, 8-0) will be back in action at 7:30 p.m. Friday as the Warriors travel to face Donna IDEA.