By MARIO AGUIRRE | STAFF WRITER
EDINBURG — Fifteen minutes after his team beat Weslaco High on Tuesday, Edinburg North coach Rudy Garcia was still trying to collect himself.
For as much as his Cougars appeared in control during the second half, thanks to a steadily growing lead and missed shots by the Panthers during the final quarter, Edinburg North wasn’t able to breathe a sigh of relief until the Panthers missed a 3-pointer and a putback as the buzzer sounded, allowing the Cougars to remain undefeated in District 31-6A play with a 45-42 win at home.
With no timeouts remaining, Weslaco High pulled down a rebound with 15 seconds and took it up court, swinging the ball around before finding Jason Morales a 3-pointer. Morales’ attempt clanked off the rim, and his Panthers teammates were unable clean up the glass, as Edinburg North (17-7, 2-0), the No. 7-ranked team by RGVSports.com, outlasted fourth-ranked Weslaco (15-7, 0-1) in its district opener.
“My heart’s still beating fast,” Garcia said, laughing. “You could say it was the closest game this year, especially the significance of it, being a district game. Weslaco came in, they were the ones with the upperhand, and we had to play.”
North had only one player in double figures, with Kobe Patterson pouring in a game-high 16 points, but it had balanced scoring throughout with Brandon De La Cruz and UB Pequeño contributing nine points apiece, and Louie Villarreal chipping in with eight.
The difference was in the second half, when Edinburg North stretched a 24-21 halftime lead to 37-32 heading into the fourth quarter. That’s when Weslaco struggled from the free-throw line (5 of 10) and from the field, where they didn’t hit their first shot of the quarter until the 2:45 mark.
Morales’ 3-pointer trimmed the deficit 41-37, but Weslaco was unable to bridge the gap much closer than 3 points, despite a suffocating defense that forced Edinburg North to turn the ball over on a 10-second violation, and nearly another time before the Cougars called for time underneath their own basket.
“We couldn’t put the ball in the hole,” Panthers coach Gabe Valdez said. “We had opportunities, but it just didn’t go in. They played a great game, but we just didn’t do our part.”
In close games this year, Valdez said his players have struggled to hit shots late. He attributed that to “a lack of concentration,” saying his players “were just throwing up shots to throw it up” on Tuesday.
“Whether they go in or not, we have to perform better than we did tonight,” Valdez added. “We still have to play. We didn’t make the necessary shots, and it hurt us.”
Considering Weslaco High was the outright district champ last year, and there was a three-way tie that followed for second place, Garcia said Tuesday’s game went a long way toward trying to create some separation atop the 31-6A standings.
North was one of those three teams that tied for second place, before a coin toss determined the ensuing playoff seeds. In winning the first head-to-head meeting against the Panthers, Edinburg North gains an upper-hand.
“They’re the toughest team in our district,” Pequeño said. “So this gives us some comfort.”