East Central clinches share of title while Southwest enters playoff hunt in 28-5A; Highlands returns to playoffs

TEAMS INCLUDED: Brackenridge, East Central, Edison, Harlandale, Highlands, Jefferson, Kennedy, Lanier, McCollum, Memorial, South San, Southside, Southwest.

Second-place Edison (22-10, 11-2) tagged first-place Brennan (26-5, 12-1) with its first loss of the District 28-4A season Saturday at the Alamo Convocation Center. The Bears are No. 5 in the Texas Association of Basketball Coaches state Class 4A rankings.

Junior Lorenzo Vela, son of Edison coach Art Vela, led the Golden Bears with 21 points, four rebounds and three steals. Vela made six 3-pointers. Andy Castro added six rebounds and Jared Zapata dealt three assists. Jordan Murphy led Brennan with 28 points.

The Golden Bears’ 29-4A rival Highlands (15-15, 8-5) joined Central Catholic, East Central, Harlandale, Lanier, McCollum, Sam Houston and Edison as the area’s district qualifiers thus far.

East Central 81, South San 62

The Hornets (22-8, 9-0) pulled out to a 21-9 lead in the first quarter and used the momentum to clinch at least a tie for first place in District 28-5A with a win over South San (14-16, 4-5) Friday at East Central.

Fittingly, East Central’s seniors took center stage on Senior Night.

Brandon McClure recorded a team-high 19 points, making all 10 attempts from the free-throw line. McClure also was credited with five rebounds. His starting backcourt partner, Ceddrick Ali, finished with 16 points, five rebounds and four assists. Up front, Albert Jimenez scored 17 points, hitting a pair of three-point shots, and grabbed five rebounds. Jeremy Jones added seven points with four assists and two blocked shots.

Another senior big man, Eric Ray, returned from an injury and scored three points.

South San individual scoring was unavailable.

East Central will try to maintain its unblemished district record in the regular-season finale Friday at Corpus Christi King.

Highlands 86, Fox Tech 44

The fourth-place Owls (15-15, 8-5) bounced back from a difficult loss to Brennan to qualify for the postseason for the second-straight year in District 28-4A.

Highlands took charge against Fox Tech (1-27, 0-13) Friday in the second half at Alamo Convocation Center. The Owls outscored the Buffaloes 28-6 in that quarter. Fox Tech led 14-12 at the end of the first quarter.

Junior JerMichael Shirley led 13 Owls scorers with 18 points. Post Joseph Jackson scored 13 points. Xavier Long and Alejandro Trevino each had 10 points. Point guard Jamaria Moody had eight points.

Long-distance shooter Santos Vargas led Fox Tech with 19 points. Ruben Chapa supplied 11 points.

Southwest 95, Corpus Christi King 75

The Dragons (10-21, 4-5) notched their second high-scoring win of the week Saturday at home against King (7-18, 0-8). They forged a three-way tie for fourth place in District 28-5A with Corpus Christi Carroll (17-9, 4-5) and South San with one game remaining.

Individual and team scoring statistics from the Southwest-King game were unavailable.

Southwest had routed Carroll 119-76 Feb. 4, setting school records for single-game points and with 17  three-pointers in the process. Dragons seniors Tony Rodriguez and Ricardo Garcia scored 23 and 22 points, respectively.

The Dragons will finish the 28-5A season Tuesday at Steele (7:30 p.m.). Carroll will play at South San (7 p.m.).

McCollum 62, Southside 35

The Cowboys (21-10, 11-2) prepared for their Tuesday District 29-4A second-place showdown with rival Harlandale by trouncing Southside (6-26, 1-12) Friday in the Cardinals’ gym. It was McCollum’s fifth-consecutive win.

McCollum manufactured a 29-13 halftime lead over Southside.

Joey Villarreal was the Cowboys’ top scorer with 16 points. Tre Johnson (12 points), Nathan Martinez (11 points) and Steve Villarreal (10) also scored in double figures.

Cardinals post Drevon Brown led Southside with 14 points. Senior Francisco Solis added eight points.

McCollum plays host to Harlandale at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday.

Lanier 80, Brackenridge 53

Senior point guard Louis Garza led the way as the third-place Voks (24-8, 9-4) doubled the point total for Brackenridge (15-17, 5-8) in the second half, breaking open a relatively close District 28-4A game Friday at Alamo Convocation Center.

Lanier scored more than 20 points in each of the first two quarters to build a 44-35 halftime lead. The Voks recorded their second-highest point total of the season.

Garza produced a game-high 22 points. Fellow seniors Rodrigo Garcia and Ajax Reyes chipped in 19 and 15 points, respectively. Freshman Isaiah Vargas scored 10 and Nick Garcia added eight points.

Eagles senior Gabe Hildebrand knocked down a game-high 23 points. Richard Wallace contributed 11 points.

Harlandale 88, Uvalde 39

The host Indians (22-10, 11-2) dismantled Uvalde (9-19, 4-7) Friday in a District 29-4A game.

Harlandale bolted to a 26-9 halftime lead. The Indians outscored the Coyotes 47-19 in the second half.

Senior Mando Guerrero led Harlandale with 17 points. Guerrero also made five steals. The Indians had five double-figure scorers, including Joshua Rodriguez (6 rebounds, 4 steals) and Chris Padilla with 15 points apiece.

Brandon Ramon tallied 14 points to go with team-bests of seven rebounds and six steals. Ram Torres finished with 11 points, four rebounds and three blocked shots. Jose Salinas had four steals.