By ADAM KUJAWSKI, Staff Writer
The Hanna Golden Eagles waited until the last possible moment before they poured on the points.
The Eagles (16-3, 5-0 in District 32-6A) trailed after each of the first three quarters and were tied after the fourth. It wasn’t until an extra period that they separated themselves from the Los Fresnos Falcons (13-10, 2-3) during a 66-56 overtime win Friday night at home.
“We gutted out a tough victory,” Hanna coach Todd Barckholtz said. “No matter who you play, every round of district’s going to get that much harder to get a ‘W.’ Then you throw in a team that’s right behind us in district, (and) you’re going to get a Friday night matchup like that.”
Hanna’s Ed Messbarger set the tone by hitting a jump shot on the opening possession of OT and a 3 with 2:30 remaining in the game to put the Eagles ahead 59-54.
Hugo de la Cruz — the Falcons’ leading scorer with 22 points — fouled out, and Los Fresnos failed to score until the final seconds.
“It was a good game, it could’ve gone either way, and they just made more plays and more stops in overtime,” Los Fresnos coach Marco Hinojosa said. “It was a close game the whole way. It was a good, hard-fought game by two good teams. I thought it was like a playoff game.
“I told the guys it wasn’t going to be easy. Hanna’s at the top of the district. They’re an elite ballclub. I’m proud of my guys. We had a chance to win the game, and that’s all you can ask for.”
Lou Garcia added a layup, and Andy Lopez and Alex Hererra combined to hit 5 of 6 free throws to round out the 12 overtime points scored by Hanna.
Each team had a chance to win during the final seconds of regulation, but a turnover by Los Fresnos and a missed shot by Hanna meant Roy Quesada’s 3-pointer with 54 seconds remaining forced additional time.
The Eagles remained within three or four points most of the game, but at one point during the third quarter they found themselves in their biggest deficit of the night.
Los Fresnos scored 11 consecutive points during a span of a minute and a half to balloon its lead to eight points and put itself in control late in the third quarter.
However, it didn’t take long for the Eagles to dig themselves out. They returned the favor early in the fourth when Herrera and Messbarger combined to score eight points in just more than one minute to take a 46-43 lead.
Los Fresnos responded, though, and the teams exchanged baskets down the stretch, ending with Quesada’s 3 to force overtime.
Hanna and Los Fresnos played each another once before during non-district play in the championship game of the Brownsville Tournament. Hanna won that game 51-39, but Barckholtz said the games hardly were comparable.
“It was the same team and the same kids, but that Brownsville Tournament was two pretty tired teams on the fourth game of a tournament,” Barckholtz said. “It’s really night and day. You know who the kids are, but tonight was a much better ballgame than that tournament game.”
Herrera tied for the scoring lead with 22 points. Messbarger and Andy Lopez followed for Hanna with 15 and 14 points, respectively. Alex Garcia was the Falcons’ second leading scorer with 10 points.
Adam Kujawski covers sports for The Brownsville Herald. You can reach him at (956) 982-6663 or via email at [email protected]. On Twitter he’s @adamkujo1.