(Edinburg, Texas)-All three Smith brothers lead the 32-4A District Champions, Port Isabel Tarpons (28-6) to a big 90-58 win over the 31-4A Alice Coyotes (21-13) to claim the University Interscholastic League’s Class 4A Bi-District Championships on Tuesday night at Edinburg North HS Gym. With the win, the Tarpons will now meet 29-4A Floresville (25-8) this weekend in the area playoffs. Tarpon junior forward Christian Smith hit seven three-pointers to lead all scorers with 31 points while twin brother, Cleveland Smith hit five-three pointers to finish with 22 points. Senior brother, Jeffery added three more three-pointers to finish with 23 points, including a missed dunk in the fourth quarter. “We are brothers and we give all glory to GOD,” said Jeffery Smith. “These guys are my brothers and we all helped each other out on the court.”
Christian had a big first half, scoring “Curry-Like” three-pointers to end the half with 21 points as the Tarpons led 36-24 over the Coyotes. In the second half, all three siblings went to work hitting threes and driving to the basket, feeding the ball to their teammates. With the Tarpons up, Christian hit another three-pointer to put his team up 43-29 with 5:22 left in the third quarter but a foul put him on the bench with three-fouls. Then, Cleveland and Jeffery took over. Cleveland found himself open for a three-pointer followed by a steal by Jeffery for another two points as the Tarpons went up 56-37. A missed dunk by Jeffery landed him on the bench with a smile. Head coach, Gilbert Rodriguez didn’t seem pleased with the dunk-attempt. “I was not happy with the dunk-attempt but over all, we played a great game tonight, especially with those three-pointers,” said Rodriguez.
Port Isabel Tarpon Jeffery Smith dribbles past Alice HS Devon Barrera with PI Shaun Moore guards Coyote Alejandro Asevedo. Bottom photo shows Coyotes not please with full call. Port Isabel head coach Gilbert Rodriguez calls out to his team as they defeated Alice 90-58 on Tuesday night in Edinburg, Texas. (HSSMImages)
