MISSION — La Joya Palmview drilled seven 3-pointers during the first half of its District 30-5A game against Rio Grande City en route to a 55-45 win Tuesday at Palmview High School.
The Lobos improved to 22-7 overall and 6-0 in district play. The loss sends the Rattlers to 15-13 on the year and 4-2 in 30-5A.
Rio Grande City turned up the intensity during the second half with defensive pressure that allowed the Rattlers to creep back in the game. Each time they got close, the Lobos found an answer to keep the lead floating around 10 points.
“I think we started hot, then in the second half we went a little cold. We went away from what we were doing and a lot of the layups we missed turned into easy buckets for them,” Palmview head coach Albert Carrillo said.
Senior guard Matthew Cruz led the Lobos with a game-high 22 points and eight rebounds. Sophomore guard Joe Gonzalez scored 12 of his 14 points during the first half, and Richard Murillo delivered late with 12 points and nine rebounds.
“We just had to play with all we got and listen to our coach. He tells us what to do, we listen and execute,” Cruz said.
Rio Grande City guard Diego Martinez led the Rattlers with 14 points, and Andre Treviño added eight points and eight rebounds.
Rio Grande City has a chance to rebound against Laredo Nixon at 7:30 p.m. Friday at Rio Grande City High School.
Meanwhile, the Lobos shift their focus to a battle of 30-5A’s top two teams between Palmview and Laredo Martin, which is also 6-0 in district play.
Palmview and Laredo Martin tip off at 7:30 p.m. Friday at Laredo Martin High School.
“We’re going to have to bring down our turnovers. I think today we had too many turnovers that we shouldn’t have had, careless passes,” Carrillo said. “It’s going to come down to us being hot from the outside, and if we can’t, throwing it inside.”
DISTRICT 31-6A
EDINBURG NORTH 50, EDINBURG HIGH 42: At Edinburg, the Cougars took down the crosstown rival Bobcats in a matchup of 31-6A title contenders at Edinburg North High School.
The Cougars (18-13, 2-0) move on to face Edinburg Economedes at 6 p.m. Friday at Economedes High School in Edinburg. The Bobcats (18-9, 1-1) will look to bounce back with a home game against PSJA High at 6 p.m. Friday at Edinburg High School.
DISTRICT 31-5A
McALLEN MEMORIAL 48, McALLEN HIGH 38: At McAllen, the Mustangs completed the season sweep of the rival Bulldogs with a win on their home court Thursday.
Rosendo Martinez led the Mustangs with a game-high 14 points and Caden Keller added eight. McHi’s Erasmo Alvarado scored a team-high 13, and Mario Villegas had 10.
Next for the Mustangs (17-5, 8-2) is Sharyland High at 7:30 p.m. Friday at Sharyland High School in Mission. The Bulldogs (12-15, 6-4) meet Sharyland Pioneer at 7:30 p.m. Friday at Sharyland Pioneer High School in Mission.