Los Fresnos did not make the playoffs in 2022, but so far so good in 2023.
The Falcons opened District 32-6A play with a 64-54 victory Friday night over the Brownsville Hanna Golden Eagles at Los Fresnos High School.
“Anytime you can start off 1-0, it is a beautiful thing,” Los Fresnos head coach Marco Hinojosa said. “But at the end of the day, we still have nine games to play … 1-0 does not mean anything. It is a step in the right direction. Our focus now is on San Benito.”
Hinojosa said the Falcons picked up contributions from multiple players to aid in the win.
“We were able to move the basketball pretty good and get some good shots,” he said. “That was one of the reasons we won tonight.”
The Falcons have three players averaging points in the double-digits this season: junior Jj Salazar at 19 points per game, sophomore Gio Galvan with 12 points and senior Luis Ramirez with 11 points.
Los Fresnos returns to action at 6 p.m. Tuesday against San Benito at San Benito High School.
The Greyhounds also started District 32-6A with a win Friday night. San Benito defeated the Harlingen High Cardinals 42-40. The Greyhounds, like the Falcons, did not make the playoffs in 2022.
The Harlingen South Hawks are now a perfect 9-0 in District 32-5A with a convincing 58-40 win over the Mercedes Tigers.
Harlingen South head coach Brian Molina said it was another great defensive performance by the Hawks.
“Mercedes has some great basketball players,” Molina said. “They do a great job at getting to the basket. We did a good job of limiting paint touches and limiting them to one shot. I think the battle of the boards was huge, and we won that battle big tonight.”
Harlingen South’s Steven Ortegon scored 19 points, Pablo Guevarra added 16 points and Nick Garcia had 11 points to lead the Hawks in scoring.
Defensively, the Hawks are only giving up an average of 34 points per game in the first round of district.
“The message today was very simple,” Molina said. “Great job, enjoy it tonight, but tomorrow we are 0-0 and it is a whole new ball game in that second round.”
The Hawks return to action against the Brownsville Pace Vikings at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at Brownsville Pace. The Vikings picked up a 57-25 win over Edcouch-Elsa on Friday night and are two games behind the Hawks in District 32-5A.
Weslaco East also stayed two games behind Harlingen South by picking up a win over Brownsville Lopez 68-63.
In District 32-4A, both Port Isabel and La Feria entered the day 4-0 in district.
The Tarpons came out victorious in a highly competitive meeting, picking up the 61-56 victory over the Lions. The Tarpons face Harmony at 8 p.m. Tuesday at home.