EDINBURG — The Edinburg Vela SaberCats ran past crosstown rival Edinburg North 80-49 in a battle between District 31-6A’s top two teams Tuesday night at Edinburg Vela High School.
The No. 4-ranked SaberCats, according to the latest RGVSports.com top 10 poll, remain unbeaten in district play at 22-6 overall and 9-0 in 31-6A. The No. 7-ranked Cougars fell to 17-9 and 5-2 in district.
“The guys responded to the challenge. We knew this was a game that could get us in the driver’s seat two games ahead of everybody in our district,” Edinburg Vela head coach Lucio Rodriguez said. “The guys stood up, rose up and played this one for our assistant coach (Homer) Garr that’s going through some stuff. They played for him tonight and it showed.”
The SaberCats posted a dominant second quarter by outscoring the Cougars 19-4 and maintained a near 30-point advantage throughout the second half. Edinburg Vela had 15 assists as a team as the ball flew around the court past the outstretched arms of Edinburg North defenders.
Alec Mancillas led the SaberCats with a game-high 21 points. Forward Jacob Rodriguez added 13 points, three rebounds and three assists, while guard Tony Requena had nine points and five assists.
“That’s when we play at our best. We knew teams now are going to go zone against us, so we’re trying work a lot against zone so we can get those interior passes down so we can convert them for layups,” Rodriguez said.
Jorge Santa Maria scored 12 to lead North, while Anthony Thomas and Eddie Gonzalez each had eight.
The Cougars are faced with a quick turnaround as they’ll travel to take on another crosstown rival, Edinburg Economedes, at 6 tonight at Economedes High School.
Edinburg Vela is also set for a rivalry game against Edinburg High at 7:30 p.m. Friday at Edinburg High School.