McALLEN — It’s been six years since Sharyland High’s boys basketball program last qualified for the postseason.
This year’s group of Rattlers is out to buck the trend and they’re off to a solid start to the 2021-22 season. Sharyland picked up a 40-35 win over San Benito in the opening game of the City of Palms Tournament hosted by McAllen Rowe on Thursday.
San Benito cut into Sharyland’s lead to make it a one-point game at 28-27 with less than two minutes to play. That’s when Sharyland senior forward Fenn Sullivan stepped up and closed the show with eight fourth-quarter points on his way to a game-high 16.
“I knew I let my team down early in the game because I picked up a couple fouls, so I knew I needed to man up and play for my team,” Sullivan said. “They set me up with nice passes.”
“I knew once the fourth quarter came around, I knew Fenn and the guys would take over. It was good to get tested again like we have been all season long,” Sharyland head coach Danny Moran said. “It was a good win and we hit some key free throws at the end.”
The Rattlers (7-6) have already earned regular-season wins over Class 6A playoff qualifiers in La Joya (64-62) and Harlingen South (54-49), and squeaked out a 62-61 win over Edcouch-Elsa on Tuesday in non-district play. Androniko Suelto hit the game-winning jump shot from the free-throw line as the last few seconds ticked off.
“They’ve played a lot of ball together,” Moran said. “They’ve trained a whole bunch more than I’ve seen a group play, and they’re close. They’re the closest group that we’ve had. … I’m excited with the team we have, but at the end of the day, I tell them, ‘We still have to go out there and play.’”
Sharyland will have to battle against tough District 31-5A competition in McAllen High, McAllen Memorial, McAllen Rowe and Sharyland Pioneer in order to earn their spot in the postseason.
“Everybody doubts Sharyland and thinks we’re just a soft basketball team, but we really have potential this year to go and win our district and make the playoffs. We have the pieces. We just have to put it together,” Sullivan said.
Next for Sharyland High is a second-round tourney matchup against Brownsville Hanna. The Eagles picked up a 60-22 win over Grulla on Thursday. Tip off between the Rattlers and Eagles is set for noon today at Rowe High School.
Other City of Palms Tournament scores from Day 1 include Santa Rosa over Mercedes 74-61, Los Fresnos over Rio Hondo 71-48, Harlingen South over Zapata 74-34, Brownsville Hanna 74-34 over Grulla, Brownsville Pace 67-49 over UERRE and McAllen Rowe 42-31 over Nuevo Leon 06.