LA JOYA — The La Joya High Coyotes came through in the clutch with the District 31-6A title on the line as Leo Villarreal hit a bank shot with four seconds left to lift the Coyotes 60-59 in overtime over the Edinburg North Cougars in a thriller Friday at La Joya High School.
La Joya (23-14) handed Edinburg North (28-9) its first loss in district play to create a tie for first with matching 8-1 records with one game remaining in 31-6A. The Cougars won their first meeting 51-38 in Edinburg on Jan. 23.
“We knew it was going to be a tough game. We played them over there and they played really well. We had to make sure come over here and defend the den and that’s something we always preach about — protecting homecourt always,” La Joya head coach Eric Montalvo said. “We executed when we needed to. Guys really locked in defensively. We executed offensively, moved the ball and got into our shots we needed to and pulled it off.”
Villarreal wasn’t the only Coyote to deliver in crunch time. Daniel Treviño scored 10 of his 13 points during the second half, Owen Benoit drilled a 3-pointer at the end of regulation to send the game into overtime tied at 51, and Hunter Morales scored six of his eight points during OT.
Villarreal finished with a game-high 25 points to lead La Joya and Benoit had 10. Villarreal was active on the offensive boards and used his size advantage to beat up on the Cougars in the paint. He scored 10 during the first half, 12 during the second and three in OT.
“We had a plan and the plan just worked,” Villarreal said about the Coyotes’ late-game plays. “We got it to the right person and got the bucket.”
Joseph Cruz led Edinburg North with 20 points and hit a layup with 12 seconds left in overtime to give the Cougars a 59-58 lead before the Coyotes nailed the game-winner. He turned up the defensive pressure late during the fourth quarter with back-to-back steals and buckets on the other end.
Raul Palacios hit four 3-pointers to finish with 12 points and Dre Estrada was tough inside with 10 of his 12 points coming during the second half.
Now, the Coyotes and Cougars are tied for first place in 31-6A with one game remaining.
The Cougars close district play against Mission High, which has locked up a playoff spot of its own. Tipoff is at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at Mission High School.
The Coyotes also are slated to hit the road for their district finale with a matchup against PSJA High at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at PSJA High School in San Juan.
