HARLINGEN — Harlingen High’s Luis Rodriguez knocked down back-to-back 3-pointers late, including the game-winner with 10 seconds left, to lift the Cardinals 42-39 over the Edinburg North Cougars in non-district action Thursday at Harlingen High School.
The Cardinals (22-3) have now won 17 straight games, while the Cougars drop to 18-8 overall.
“They’ve been battling back all year. It just shows the heart that they have and the toughness that they possess,” Harlingen High head coach Clayton Cretors said about his team following the victory. “They just refuse to lose and have great competitive spirit. I didn’t make a spectacular call or anything at the end, it was just their desire to win.”
The Cardinals trailed the Cougars by eight at the half and by seven with 1:40 remaining in the fourth quarter before Andrew Galdamez found Rodriguez open in the left corner late on two occasions. Rodriguez rose up and drilled both 3-pointers to give Harlingen a 39-38 lead with one minute left and the other for the 42-39 final.
“That’s just favor from the Lord, man. That’s not anything within my control,” Rodriguez said about his clutch 3-pointers. “I can work as hard as I want, I can do all these things to be great, but if God doesn’t put me in the position to be great, then there’s no meaning. God took over me those last two shots and allowed us to be successful.”
Harlingen’s Galdamez led all scorers with 17 points and four assists. Rodriguez scored seven of his nine during the fourth quarter, while Alex Hernandez added six points and four rebounds.
Joseph Cruz finished with 11 points and three assists to lead Edinburg North. Josiah Cruz chipped in with 10 points and five rebounds, while freshman Raul Palacios scored nine.
The Cougars built an early lead thanks to deadeye shooting from deep with five first half 3-pointers. Out of the break, however, Harlingen turned to full court pressure and sparked a run of their own with tough finishes inside from Galdamez and Hernandez. The change in defense led to multiple takeaways, allowing the Cardinals to cut into the late lead and pull out the win.
“Obviously they’re a quality team, but we’ve been known as a second half team our whole season. Our mentality is to never drop our heads and always keep pushing through no matter the result, because with a minute and a half (left), we were down seven and we ended up winning the game,” Rodriguez said.
The Cardinals return to play at 2:30 p.m. today against Mission High at Harlingen High School.
The Cougars are back in action against Brownsville Hanna at 1:30 p.m. next Friday at Edinburg North High School.
