Churchill’s fourth-quarter push edges East Central
TEAMS INCLUDED:Central Catholic, East Central, Edison, Fox Tech, Harlandale, Holy Cross, Lanier, South San, Southside, Southwest.
Lanier won four of five games over the weekend to finish in fifth place at the Border Olympics.
The Voks (4-2) smashed Laredo Martin 59-31 Saturday to take fifth place in the Laredo Tournament. Lanier salso won 45-42 over Laredo St. Augustine earlier in the day.
Friday, Lanier crushed Laredo Cigarroa 66-32, but lost to tournament runner-up Laredo United South 47-42 in overtime.
The Voks trailed United South 33-24 late in the third quarter, but caught up and managed to send the game into overtime. United South prevailed in the extra session.
Individual statistics for Lanier were unavailable.
Fox Tech (1-9) also competed in the Border Olympics. The Buffaloes lost 58-36 Saturday, Ruben Hernandez scored 14 points and Ruben Chapa added 10.
On Friday, Laredo United defeated Fox Tech 71-23.
Churchill 69, East Central 68
The undefeated Chargers (11-0), No. 2 in the Express-News area rankings, edged East Central (4-4) in a thriller Wednesday afternoon at the Hornets’ Bonewitz Center.
The Hornets led Churchill 55-50, heading into the fourth quarter. The Chargers limited East Central to 13 fourth-quarter points.
Senior guard Ceddrick Ali shouldered a bit more of the Hornets’ offensive burden than usual, leading East Central with 17 points. Senior post Albert Jimenez contributed 16 points. Football standout and third-year varsity basketball player Jeremy Jones scored 12.
The Chargers held Hornets season scoring leader Brandon McClure to seven points.
Brian Herring led Churchill with 28 points.
Edison 65, Harlandale 57
The Golden Bears (2-5) had been a hard-luck team until they traveled to Harlandale Tuesday.
Playing a tough schedule, Edison lost its first four games. Each of its five losses have been decided by fewer than 10 points. The Golden Bears’ non-district win over the Indians (5-2) was their second in the last three games.
Harlandale absorbed its second-consecutive loss, by a combined total of 12 points, after winning its first two contests. The Golden Bears bolted to a 22-14 lead in the first quarter and were ahead by 10 at the half. Harlandale had a 13-9 scoring edge in the third quarter.
Senior post Andy Castro led four Edison double-figure scorers with 18 points. The 6-foot-6 senior, Antonio Alvarado (17 points), Lorenzo Vela and Jared Zapata (8 points) each cleared six rebounds.
Justin Torres and Vela each scored 10 points for the Bears. Torres also contributed five rebounds, four assists and three steals. Vela finished with five assists and three steals. Castro made two steals.
Jose Salinas led Harlandale with 17 points. Ram Torres scored 15. Armando Guerrero contributed 11 points. Joshua Rodriguez provided 10.
Central Catholic 68, Holy Cross 42
The Buttons (4-6) established a 10-point lead in the opening quarter and rolled from there, defeating their chief rival Tuesday at Central Catholic.
Holy Cross (0-4) matched the Buttons with 11 points in the fourth quarter of the non-district game.
Senior point guard P.J. Escobar led Central Catholic with 14 points. Senior Stuart Lynch and junior Tony Lewis scored 12 apiece. Chad Plummer added 11 points for the Buttons.
Sophomore Jonathan Bailey led the Knights with 12 points. James Guevara chipped in with eight points in the basketball version of the Holy Bowl.
South San 60, Southside 59
The Bobcats (2-2), with the help of an outstanding outing from junior point guard Olando Lopez, held off a furious comeback from rapidly improving Southside (3-7) to record a non-district win Tuesday.
South San established a 29-19 halftime lead and extended it to 13 points by the end of the third quarter. The Cardinals outscored the Bobcats 28-16 in the final period.
Lopez scored a game-high 26 points. Junior guard Eric Flores posted 13 points. Eric Alcozer added 11 for South San.
Southside was led by 20 points from senior guard Francisco Solis. Senior post Drevon Brown scored 19.
Southwest 67, Marshall 61
The host Dragons (1-3) recorded their first win of the season Tuesday, outscoring Marshall 23-19 in the fourth quarter.
Southwest had a two-point lead after a quarter, but trailed 32-26 at halftime. The Dragons regained the lead at the end of the third quarter, limiting the Rams (3-5) to 10 points in eight minutes.
Individual statistics for Southwest were unavailable.