BY SAUL BERRIOS-THOMAS | STAFF WRITER
PHARR — Things are starting to click for the PSJA North boys basketball team.
A lot of moving pieces fell into place abruptly at the beginning of the year, and off-season injuries made chemistry even harder to come by, for the Raiders.
The tournament season helped bring them together, and now the team is rising to full speed.
The Raiders pulled off a hard-fought win over the always tough Rio Grande City Rattlers on Friday at PSJA North, 84-72.
“It was a challenge for us, because (RGC has) won some tough games, and beaten some quality teams,” North coach Jaime Gongora said. “We always try to schedule tough to get us ready for district. This was a good measuring stick for us, because of the type of basketball they have been playing. I thought our kids, overall, this is the best game they have played. We still made little mistakes, but it is coming.”
Early fouls on both ends caused both teams to adjust. PSJA North junior forward Iziaah Rangel came out early in the second quarter, and Rio’s Aaron Marroquin and Jaime Covarrubias were both plagued with foul trouble all game.
“Timur Lamb came in and gave us some big quality minutes when Iziaah got into early foul trouble,” Gongora said. “Ricky Garcia did a good job off the bench. And our freshman Isaac, he has been a big surprise, because he has given us a lot of solid minutes.”
A few early hand-check calls made it very difficult for the Rattlers to apply their typical defensive pressure.
Sometimes, though, defense isn’t enough, like when sophomore guard Elijah De La Garza glides through the lane and finishes with a layup over the big man. Or, when North senior guard Daunte Galvan pulls up from three with a defender in his face and still hits it.
“Everybody starts hitting after that,” De La Garza said. “When we all have confidence in each other, and we are all cheering for each other, those threes can really get us going.”
North jumped out to an 8-0 advantage, but Rio hung tough. To start the second, Rio cut the North lead down to four. That’s when Galvan connected with a signature 3-pointer, the defense all over him.
Seconds later, Galvan drilled another from deep. After a pair of Rio free throws, senior forward Arturo Beltran was open in the corner and buried a three of his own. Just like that, the Raiders’ lead was back up to 11.
“That was big,” De La Garza said. “When he hits those and we go up big, it makes it that much harder, especially with the defense we are playing, for them to come back.”
Few teams expected Beltran to be so good this year, or at least that is what their defenses have suggested.
“A lot of people have been keying in on Daunte and Elijah,” Beltran said. “Usually the defenders try to help out too much, but they don’t know that I am a good 3-point shooter. So, don’t be sleeping on me, because I will make it rain on you guys.”
Not only has Beltran become a player that can carry the load on offense with his shooting, but his work on the other end has also earned plaudits from Gongora.
“Coming into this year, I thought Arturo would be one of our better offensive players,” Gongora said. “It is kind of a weird deal where he has turned into probably our best defensive player.”
On Friday, Beltran had 15. De La Garza led the team with 24, and the black to his silver, Galvan, scored 22. Rangel had 10 despite the foul trouble.
Rio was led by Covarrubias with 20. The big man, Josh Garcia cleaned up inside with 12 points for the Rattlers. With Marroquin and Covarrubias limited, Raudel Solis had to step up. Solis was tasked with playing physical defense and handling the ball; he added nine points. Solis was also responsible for some of the nice passes that led to Garcia’s inside points.
Everybody in the PSJA North locker room knew it could take some time to get the team on the same page, but that just makes it that much sweeter now that things are starting to click.
“We are feeling really comfortable with each other right now,” De La Garza said. “We have been practicing a lot, especially on moving the ball, and it is coming together. When we move the ball, we are great.”
The road ahead is not without peril for the Raiders. They will sail into battle for the District 30-6A title beginning Dec. 29.
“The district season is exciting,” Galvan said. “We still have to work on our game. We are getting better together, and getting ready for district. We are really looking forward to facing Nikki Rowe and McHi.”