By ANDREW CRUM, Staff Writer
Brownsville Veterans Memorial started strong but didn’t hold off Harlingen South in a physical district battle.
The Chargers raced out to a double-digit lead early, but the Hawks fought back, forcing two overtimes and receiving some clutch shooting during a 57-53 double-overtime victory over Brownsville Veterans in a crucial District 32-6A game Friday night at Brownsville Veterans.
“I think they executed better down the stretch than we did,” Brownsville Veterans coach Larry Gibson said. “I don’t think we executed very well down the stretch and we started cramping up, we just got tired. I think they had more left in the tank than we did.”
Harlingen South received five points apiece from Luke Bradford and Arron Briones in overtime to help the Hawks outscore the Chargers 18-14 in the period and sealed the win with free throws down the stretch.
“We talked about the first three possessions (in second overtime), and we had to be the aggressor,” Harlingen South coach Brian Molina said. “We played from behind, it seemed like, every single quarter. I told them it’s really important that we have to jump on them right off the bat and hopefully we can win it from the free-throw line, and that’s what we did.
“I’m proud of the kids. I think they grew up (Friday).”
Alex Marquez scored 19 points and grabbed six boards, and Aaron Villarreal finished with 13 points and 10 boards to lead the Chargers.
Brownsville Veterans was in control during the first half. The Chargers took advantage of Harlingen South’s poor shooting and used an 8-0 run and later a 4-0 run to lead 12-4 after the first quarter. The Chargers continued to get buckets and led 20-9 after a pair of free throws by Marquez and a bucket by JP Delgado. But Nate Rodriguez hit back-to-back 3s to allow the Hawks to cut the deficit to five at the break.
“I told the kids, I think we’re settling for shots on the outside,” Molina said. “Credit to Brownsville Veterans, they were attacking the basket, I told (my team) we need to do that as well, and we were fortunate, it opened up a couple shots for us.”
During the second half, Harlingen South made its comeback. Bradford had 14 points after halftime and the Hawks took a 29-28 lead at the end of the third quarter. Marquez scored nine points and Villarreal added five, but the Chargers missed too many opportunities late in the game.
Marquez hit a jumper to give Brownsville Veterans a 39-37 lead, but Noah Perez hit a runner to tie the game at 39 with less than one minute to play. Neither team broke the tie, and the game went to overtime.
The Chargers had a chance to win it in the first overtime. After Erick Saldana hit a pair of free throws to give Brownsville Veterans a four-point lead, Bradford answered with a bucket to cut it to two.
Marquez drove the lane on the next Chargers possession and drew a foul while making a layup on what seemed like a chance for a three-point play to seal the game. But the referees waved off the shot and Marquez hit one of two free throws to give the Chargers a three-point lead. With just seconds left, Sean Turrubiches hit a long 3 to tie the game, taking the momentum and sending it to a second overtime.
Bradford led all scorers with 23 points and grabbed 15 rebounds, Perez finished with 10 points and five boards, and Rodriguez added nine on three 3s for Harlingen South.
The Hawks expected a tight game and were fortunate to come out on top.
“It was a big win for us, it really was,” Molina said. “Going on the road playing a tough team like Brownsville Veterans, they’re really well-coached. Coach Gibson does a great job with them, and (every time) we’ve played them all year long it’s come down to overtime or possessions.”
Gibson knew it wasn’t going to be easy, but the Chargers missed out a chance to clinch the second seed in District 32-6A.
“It’s the fourth time we played them this year, two went to overtime and another was a one-point game,” he said. “It was just two good teams playing. They were the better team (Friday), and they came out on top.”
Now Brownsville Veterans must win Tuesday against Rivera.
“It puts us tied with (Harlingen South),” Gibson said. “We have to win next Tuesday and probably have to flip for second and third seed if we win.”
Andrew Crum covers sports for The Brownsville Herald. You can reach him at (956) 982-6629 or via email at [email protected]. On Twitter he’s @andrewmcrum.