NATHANIEL MATA | STAFF WRITER
SAN JUAN — Edcouch-Elsa’s Christian Lira wasn’t the first choice to put up the shot that would either force overtime or end the Yellow Jackets’ season, but he was the right choice.
Lira’s 3-pointer, in the final tenth of a second, knotted the game in regulation and allowed E-E to defeat Rio Grande City 52-51 in the Class 5A Bi-District round Monday night at PSJA High in San Juan.
“I was shocked when I hit it, but I was excited at the same time,” Lira said after cutting his piece of twine from the net. “I just did it with confidence. It’s a dream come true, I always wanted to hit a shot like that.”
In the moments leading up to the sophomore’s electrifying 3-pointer, RGC had nailed free-throws and had E-E on the ropes.
Needing a three on the play before, Yellow Jackets junior Aaron Aguinaga missed a layup that would have only brought his team to within a point as time nearly ran out. The clock read 0.1 before the inbound.
Aguinaga was the team’s first target on the inbound, but the Rattlers defense was stout to deny him the ball.
“We have confidence in our plays and that was kind of one of those spur of the moment plays because of the fact we didn’t have enough time,” Edcouch-Elsa coach Lalo Rios said. “We had two options on it. They did a good job taking option one away, we found option two. I’m just so grateful he was able to get it and shoot it as quickly as he could.”
In overtime, the two squads had to put an emotional regulation behind them and fight to keep their season alive for four more minutes.
Only six points were scored as the Rattlers had the ball with time running down before it was knocked loose. A mad scramble ensued and Aguinaga, wearing a bandage wrap around his head to stop the bleeding from a third-quarter gash that caused him to miss significant time, came up with the ball.
On his way upcourt he was fouled with 0.6 remaining on the clock. With the score tied at 51, he made his first free-throw; it was all they needed.
“This is a great feeling,” Aguinaga said with tears in his eyes after the win. “I’ve been working for this. I’m trying to get my seniors to where they’re trying to go. I’m trying to do this for them, I’m not doing this for me. It’s all about teammates and love.”
E-E put on a strong defensive effort in the first half of the bi-district tilt. Rio Grande City only had 14 points at the break to the Jacket’s 25.
At that juncture, Rio captain Jaime Covarrubias was held scoreless and the Rattlers only had five made field goals. The defensive hightlight of the night was a monsterous block by Aguinaga after he was able to chase the Rio guard down on a would-be layup.
“We prepared very well for this game, that’s one of our strengths,” Rio said. “First half we executed it to the ‘T’ and we did a good job of limiting Covarrubias) to get those shots. But second half we told them (Covarrubias) is not just going to go away, he’s going to fight.”
In the second half, specifically, when Aguinaga went out with an elbow to the face on a rebound, the Rattlers surged and got their huge crowd back into the mix.
RGC made up a 13-point deficit to take its first lead late in the third since the early moments of the ballgame.
Covarrubias was right in the middle of the action with 13 second-half points, including two of four threes in the half to send the Rattler faithful into a frenzy.
E-E finally broke a long drought and took a 35-33 advantage into the fourth, but the damage was done and a new game was born for the final quarter.
RGC cashed in at the line late to give what it believed was enough to hold off the Jackets. Covarrubias and Aaron Marroquin combined to make 9 of 15 free throws in the second half and overtime.
Marroquin had 18 points to lead all scorers.
Yellow Jackets senior point guard Bryan Guerra had 10 points and did not see much of the bench in the extended game.
“I wasn’t nervous as I thought I would be,” Guerra said. “It was just fun to be here. I can’t really explain how I was feeling throughout the game, but I’m just happy we came out with the W at the end of the game.”
He admitted before the shot that demanded overtime, that he thought his high school career was ending after the whistle.
“I thought we had a little bit of a chance but I didn’t think we had much of a chance but you never know,” Guerra said.
Even though regulation was a pressure cooker of stress for the Jackets, Lira said that when Aguinaga was at the line with two shots and less than a second his group was golden.
“I was already celebrating honestly with Bryan my point guard,” Lira said.
Edcouch-Elsa will face the winner of today’s Corpus Christi Ray and Gregory Portland matchup.