EDINBURG — Edinburg North led Edinburg High at the end of each of the first three quarters of their District 31-6A rivalry game Friday night.
The fourth quarter belonged to the Bobcats, however.
Edinburg High rode a second-half surge en route to downing crosstown rival Edinburg North 61-54 at Edinburg High School.
The Bobcats (22-10 overall) and Cougars (21-15) move into a tie for second place in the District 31-6A standings with identical 5-2 records after splitting their head-to-head matchups this season. Edinburg North won the first game 50-42 on Jan. 17.
“My assistant coaches, Coach (Jorge) Garcia and Coach (Steve) Guerrero, did a good job of preparing our kids to compete tonight,” Edinburg High head coach Zeke Cuellar said. “We played a lot better in the second half. We took the lead, and then we never gave it up. Our guys were playing with a lot of confidence.”
The Bobcats’ defense and play from their bench provided the spark they needed to swing momentum in their favor during the second half.
Edinburg High took its first lead of the contest with six minutes remaining in the fourth quarter after back-to-back steals and coast-to-coast layups from Joaquin Soto and Jahi Fagan.
Lorenza Watson was instrumental off the Bobcats’ bench, scoring 14 points, pulling down four rebounds and blocking two shots while also defending Edinburg North’s 6-foot, 7-inch post Eddie Gonzalez.
“We’ve been waiting for him to bring some type of productivity off the bench, and he did that tonight. He took it to heart and he knew that we trusted him on the floor, and he just played the best ball that he’s played all year,” Cuellar said. “He was a spark for us coming off the bench.”
Edinburg North raced out to a 15-6 lead after one quarter and a 30-22 advantage at the break. Three players finished in double figures for the Cougars, led by Jorge Santa Maria’s 16 points, 14 points from Cristian Faz and 13 points and three blocks from Gonzalez.
“We knew it was going to be a playoff atmosphere. We knew it was going to be difficult,” Edinburg North head coach Carlos Ramos said. “We knew they were going to make a run. The thing that got us is the run lasted a little longer than I hoped for and we couldn’t counter.”
Edinburg High’s Ian Garcia scored a team-high 15 points and blocked two shots, and helped pull Gonzalez away from the basket to open up opportunities for his teammates. The Bobcats switched between man-to-man and zone defense to keep the Cougars out of rhythm during the second half.
Fagan came on strong in the fourth quarter by scoring nine of his 13 points during the final eight minutes. He also added eight boards, two assists and three steals. Ryan Rivera chipped in with 10 points for the Bobcats.
“It was a great game. I thank my teammates and the seniors,” Garcia said. “This is what we wanted, to beat the Cougars. I think it was our defense and my teammates, especially Zo Watson — heck of a player he is.”
The Bobcats are back in action against PSJA High at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at PSJA High School in San Juan. The Cougars will look to rebound against Edinburg Economedes at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at Edinburg North High School.