(La Joya, Texas)-Ricardo Roman, a 6’3 forward, scored 22 points to lead the 32-6A Brownsville Hanna Eagles (29-10) to its first University Interscholastic League Bi-District title since 2015 by defeating 31-6A Tri-Champions, La Joya 53-50 on Monday night at Coyote Gymnasium. The win puts the Eagles in the area championships against 29-6A San Antonio Brennan (27-7) or 30-6A Laredo United South (23-12) this weekend.
In the first quarter, the Coyotes were howling with two three-pointers by Jon Cortina followed by another downtown shot from Daniel Trevino to give the Coyotes an early lead 15-8 over the Eagles. It was the aggressive play by the Coyotes defense that kept the Eagles from flying too far. “We cannot give the ball on turnovers,” said Coyote head coach, Eric Montalvo. In the second quarter, it was the Eagles turn to put pressure on the Coyotes forcing them to turnovers as they outscored the Coyotes 17-11, including a three-pointer at the buzzer by Hanna’s Emiliano Hernandez to made it 26-25 La Joya.
Both teams exchanged points in the third quarter with both teams scoring 17 points apiece to start the final quarter, with Arian Quintanilla hitting a three-pointer to make it 43-42, sending the Coyote bench wild. At the start of the final quarter, La Joya HS Ethan Joya was banged up and he showed it too. He went to the free throw line six times, converting five points. Quintanilla was the other Coyote scoring another two points as the Eagles defense shut down the rest of the team to pick up the win. Still, La Joya had one more chance to tie the game but fell short as time expired. “I like the way we came back and played in the final quarter,” said Hanna head coach, Fermin Lucio. (HSSMImages)
