By JOSHUA McKINNEY, Staff Writer
Wins on Tuesday night put both Los Fresnos and Brownsville Veterans Memorial atop the District 32-6A standings after the second slate of district games.
Brownsville Veterans (20-2, 2-0) beat San Benito 63-45 on the road and Los Fresnos (16-6, 2-0) took down Harlingen High 68-58 to remain the only undefeated teams left in the district.
The Chargers, ranked 22nd in the latest Texas Association of Basketball Coaches Class 6A poll, became the first Metro-area school to reach the 20-win plateau this season.
“We have kids that have bought into our system and are giving their all,” coach Larry Gibson said. “And we have a great coaching staff.”
Los Fresnos coach Marco Hinojosa said the Falcons’ start to the season is much better than last year’s 0-2 start to the district loop, due to a more seasoned squad.
“The difference from this year and last year is that we are a little more experienced,” Hinojosa said. “That has been big because now the kids are doing a better job of finishing ball games.”
The teams meet for the first time in district play next Tuesday at Brownsville Veterans. They met earlier in the season in the C.E. Vail Tournament. Los Fresnos won 56-43.
OFF WEEK: St. Joseph Academy (13-6) receives a mini-break before heading into district play.
The Bloodhounds have this week off and play a non-district game against Santa Rosa next Tuesday before heading into TAPPS 5A District 2 play the following Friday.
“They are excited to start district,” SJA coach Sam Lucio said. “They have been working hard in practice, and they are looking forward to competing for a district championship. They know that the teams in our district are state ranked, and they are ready to compete against them. They know it’s going to be tough, but they are up for the challenge.”
San Antonio Antonian, St. Anthony and Central Catholic share St. Joseph’s district. All three teams are in the top 12 of the TABC’s large private schools poll.
Lucio thinks the Bloodhounds have made strides on both ends of the court this season.
“I feel just our overall game has improved,” he said. “On defense, we are doing a better job closing out on shooters, team rebounding and just a better job of communication on defense. On offense, we have done a better job executing our offense. We have shot the ball better lately, and we have been getting into our transition offense and getting some easy baskets.”
BACK TO FORM: It was a rebound performance for Hanna on Tuesday night.
The Eagles (7-13, 1-1) beat Lopez 71-45 after losing their opener to Brownsville Veterans 60-35 on Saturday.
“(It was) the best 32 minutes we have played,” Hanna coach Todd Barckholtz said. “I’m very proud of how the guys rallied in practice (Monday). All 11 players worked hard in practice to prepare for executing (Tuesday night’s) game plan.”
Hanna’s 71-point performance was indicator of the young team’s capabilities. Barckholtz said the Eagles showed more patience on offense and made more shots. They didn’t settle for bad shots and played team defense against Lopez. Next up for Hanna is a road game against Harlingen South (13-4, 1-1) on Tuesday.
Joshua McKinney covers sports for The Brownsville Herald. You can reach him at (956) 982-6663 or via email at [email protected]. On Twitter he’s @joshuabvherald.