Hawks pull ahead in 31-5A race with 43-38 win over Edinburg North

HARLINGEN — Anjel with a "J" made some pretty big J’s down the stretch.

Sophomore Anjel Gonzalez scored 12 points off the bench and Nick Garcia led all scorers with 19 points as the Harlingen South scored a huge 43-38 win against Edinburg North on Friday to give itself some breathing room atop the District 31-5A standings.

The No. 1 Hawks improve to 10-1 in league play while the No. 7 Cougars fall to 8-3 with three games left in the regular season.

South’s only district loss came to Edinburg North in the first half of league play. And while the Hawks avenged the loss, the hardest part of the schedule remains ahead for the Green Birds.

South (25-6) hits the road next week for games at Edinburg on Tuesday and Economedes on Friday. The Hawks close the season at home on Feb. 14 against Harlingen.

South finished 3-1 in their first run through the 31-5A gauntlet.

"This was a big win but this is such a tough district," South head coach Brian Molina said. "Any team can beat any team on any given night. Any victory in this district, is very well-earned."

The Hawks’ latest win was close and definitely hard fought.

It also might not be made possible if not for that hot-handed sophomore.

Gonzalez came off the bench and hit his first jumper with 1:31 left in the third. A few moments later, Gonzalez nailed a huge three-pointer with 18 seconds left in the third to tie the game at 27.

Gonzalez proceeded to hit another jumper to open the fourth period then another three to put South up 31-27 with 4:59 left in the game.

"From day one, Anjel’s showed us that he plays with confidence," Molina said of the Gonzalez, 31-5A’s newcomer of the year last season in baseball.

"He came through for us with some really big shots tonight. We know he’s able to knock down the big baskets and he did it tonight."

South could have used him early on when the shots weren’t falling.

Edinburg North opened up with a 10-7 lead following the opening period. A low scoring second period led to a 19-15 advantage for the Cougars at halftime.

"You have to credit their (Cougars) defense," Molina said. "We just couldn’t make a basket. But we kept playing defense and hoped our shots would start falling. In the second half, they finally did."

And it was in that second half when Edinburg went cold.

After Gonzalez’s first three that knotted the game at 27, North’s Alexis Garza went to the line for two with five seconds left in the game but missed both.

Brandon Davila then went to the line too with 7:09 left in the game and also missed both.

Later in the game, North wasted another scoring opportunity with a missed layup on a fastbreak.

North went 2-for-7 from the free-throw line in the second half.

"The shots weren’t falling in the second half," North head coach Rudy Garcia said. "We couldn’t make free throws and that was the difference. But I’m proud of the guys…they played hard."

The Cougars now trail South by two games. Edinburg North hasn’t won a district title since 1997.

"We just have to keep battling," Garcia said. "And we need to finish strong."

Follow Eladio on Twitter @lamerapluma