LA JOYA — La Joya High and PSJA High put their winning streaks on the line Tuesday night as the Coyotes, winners of 10 consecutive games, and the Bears, owners of six straight victories, clashed in a pivotal District 31-6A matchup.
But the Coyotes found a way to extend theirs by edging past the Bears 45-42 at La Joya High School. A 3-point attempt by the Bears bounced off the rim as time expired to give the Coyotes (19-2, 11-1) their 11th consecutive victory.
“This was a great experience for us — situational basketball. I thought we executed well at the end, defensively more than offensively,” La Joya head coach Eric Montalvo said. “The ball didn’t go our way a couple of times; credit the Bears because they were playing great defense. But what we got out of this game was the experience in situational basketball for games to come in the future.”
PSJA trailed La Joya 41-35 heading into the fourth quarter, but the Bears fought their way back to take a 42-41 lead with less than two minutes to play.
“We were antsy. I think we wanted to get all the buckets at once,” Montalvo said. “I told them to be ready, we’re going to need all of you, so be ready to put the ball in the hole.”
The Coyotes did precisely that as La Joya reclaimed the lead on a pair of Bernie Vera free throws with 54.7 seconds left. The Coyotes defense then made a play as Ethan Moya came away with a steal, pushed the ball down court and found JC Barrientos below the PSJA basket for a layup to finish off the fast break, which gave La Joya the 45-42 lead.
La Joya senior guard Cesar Villarreal finished with 17 points, five rebounds, two assists and one steal. He poured in 13 of his game-high during the third quarter.
“Cesar is one of our guys that can score in bunches. He’ll come in and look to pass, and then he’ll start to get more aggressive. We rely on him a lot. He’s a three-year letterman for us, so when he has the ball in his hands, he’s usually going to make the right decision.”
La Joya’s big man, Vera, added 10 points and seven rebounds, while Moya had four points, three rebounds, three assists, three steals and two blocks.
PSJA’s Juan Rodriguez led the Bears with 15 points and four rebounds. Josh Loredo finished with eight points, five rebounds and two assists.
The La Joya Coyotes now have a 2 1/2-game lead in District 31-6A at 11-1, ahead of the 8-3 Edinburg Economedes Jaguars.
Despite the loss for PSJA, the Bears are now firmly in the playoff picture after starting district play with a 1-5 record. Their six-game win streak, ended by the Coyotes on Tuesday, catapulted PSJA High into the district’s No. 5 seed at the moment.
Next up for La Joya is a district rivalry game against La Joya Juarez-Lincoln (0-10) scheduled for a 7 p.m. tip Friday at Juarez-Lincoln. Meanwhile, the Bears will look to bounce back as PSJA High hosts Edinburg North (12-7, 8-4) at 7 p.m. Friday.