EDINBURG — A matchup of TAPPS Class 1A District 7 state-ranked powers collided Thursday night, with No. 3 Edinburg Harvest Christian Academy defeating No. 1 Alamo Macedonian Christian Academy 60-48 at Harvest Christian Academy in Edinburg.
The HCA Eagles (24-8, 7-1) avenged two earlier losses against the MCA Lions (32-3, 5-1) this season to create a tie for first in the District 7-1A standings.
“I told (MCA) Coach (Santiago) Curling myself, they helped us get better. They pushed us,” HCA head coach Juan Landa Jr. said. “This is a commitment that started back in late April. We worked at it, worked at it, worked at it. We’re trying to get to where they’re trying to get to. It’s a great win for the program, a great win for the boys and a great win for the school.”
The Lions held a 27-25 lead at the break, but the Eagles locked down defensively to outscore MCA 35-21 during the second half. The Eagles swarmed Lions big-man Trey Ashley to limit him to six points on the night.
Meanwhile, HCA had five players finish in double-figures, led by 13 from Noah Cruz. Randon Amador was right behind him with 12 points, Matthew Garza had 11, and Orlando Munoz and Marcos Reyes both finished with 10.
“Every practice we build on defense. I told them, ‘We got here on defense, we’re going to have to finish it on defense,’ and I thought the second half we really clamped down. We cleaned up some of the first-half mistakes, and the boys held their composure late to pull this one off,” Landa said.
RJ Garza led MCA with a game-high 15 points, and Ethan Gonzalez scored 10.
Next for Macedonian Christian Academy is Mission Juan Diego Academy at 1 p.m. Saturday in Mission.
Harvest Christian Academy closes its regular season at home against Mission Juan Diego Academy on Tuesday with the game time to be determined.
