KEVIN NARRO | Staff Writer
HARLINGEN— All night long, Harlingen High and Harlingen South answered each other’s left hooks. Neither team managed to pull away.
That was until Cardinals senior Michael Arellano drilled a 3-pointer early in the fourth quarter that gave the Cards a five-point lead, helping to fuel a 17-3 run to close out a 50-38 win over Harlingen South on Friday night.
Arellano finished with a game-high 18 points.
“We just tried to push the tempo and push the defensive pressure,” Cardinals assistant coach Leeroy Sanchez said. “We were fortunate that we were able to get some turnovers, and that helped our offense. Much credit to Harlingen South, they are a tough team and it was hard to break it open against them. They play very good defense, we were just fortunate.”
Harlingen High snapped a two-game skid and improved to 4-3 in district play, staying ahead of the pack for a possible No. 3 seed.
The Cardinals now hit the road for the final three games of the regular season, starting with a matchup against Brownsville Rivera on Tuesday followed by games at San Benito and Brownsville Hanna.
“Any time you can beat Harlingen South or any top team, it is going to help and give us confidence,” Sanchez said. “Hopefully we can build on this for the last three games and into the playoffs if we are fortunate to make it.”
South, meanwhile, slides to 2-5 in district and now has a tall order against Brownsville Hanna on Tuesday at home.
The Hawks need to win Tuesday to keep their playoff hopes alive. Senior Grant Lowery led the offense with 15 points in the loss.