This season has been a special one for the boys and girls basketball programs at Brownsville St. Joseph Academy.
Both teams clinched a TAPPS 5A District 4 championship, which came with a first-round bye in the state playoffs. They also earned the right to have home court advantage when SJA plays host to an area playoff doubleheader today at Memorial Gym. The Lady Bloodhounds are facing Fort Bend at noon, and the Bloodhounds will follow with a game against Houston Lutheran South at 2:30 p.m.
“Anytime you can play a playoff game at home, it’s big,” Bloodhounds coach Sam Lucio said. “This has been an awesome year for all our sports. The whole school’s excited for everything. People want to come to the games and be part of it. It’s exciting for the future for St. Joe.”
Lucio’s Bloodhounds defeated Laredo St. Augustine on Feb. 22 to claim their first district championship in the seven years he’s been leading the program. The win was extra special for SJA because it also marked the 100th victory in Lucio’s head coaching career.
“It was awesome because that was one of our goals at the beginning of the year, to win a district championship, so it was a good feeling. It’s something I’ll never forget, getting my 100th win and our first district championship as a team,” Lucio said.
Lucio said the Bloodhounds knew heading into the season that this was their year to be district champions. The team had good chemistry and a lot of experienced upperclassmen to lead the way for talented youngsters.
Lucky Edge and Josh Cisneros are two key pieces on SJA’s talented roster. Lucio praised Edge’s abilities on both ends of the court, and said his speed and athleticism is a beneficial for the Bloodhounds. He said Cisneros is “versatile on defense” and “fundamentally sound on offense.” Cisneros is often tasked to cover the opponent’s best player, and he can quietly score a lot of points with his efficiency on the court.
Luigi Cristiano, Jimmy Navarro and Martin Tapia are younger players who Lucio praised for putting in big minutes this year. The Bloodhounds are feeling confident heading into their area-round game and think the depth and selflessness of the team will help the program earn a big home playoff win two years in a row.
“I think our ball movement this year and our team chemistry has been awesome,” Lucio said. “They make the extra pass, they like to share the ball with each other. Every game someone else can go for 20. … (Houston Lutheran South is) big, very athletic. They kind of play the same style we do, so we’re excited to see how we match up with them. We have a good feeling. We’ve had some good practices and are coming off the big win, so the team’s excited and loose.”
The Lady Bloodhounds have been waiting for two weeks for their area playoff game, and now that it’s here, they feel they have what it takes to move on to Round 3.
Robert Moreno is in his first year as SJA’s head coach, and getting to lead a talented and experienced team has been a joy. Moreno knew the team had potential when the season started, and he said it’s a good feeling to see the girls live up to those expectations and bring a district title back to SJA.
“Winning a district championship was one of our goals, because I don’t remember when the last time was they won one here,” Moreno said. “It was special, especially for those seniors that have been in the program all four years. I knew we could do something special, so it was very good to do it.”
The Lady Bloodhounds played a challenging non-district schedule to prepare them for a lengthy playoff run. Moreno credited playing bigger UIL squads from across the Valley, particularly 6A regional semifinalist Harlingen High, for being a good test for the girls and showing them what it takes to win.
Moreno said the Lady Bloodhounds are going to feed off the energy from the St. Joseph community when they take on Fort Bend in the comfort of Memorial Gym. SJA likes to run and push the tempo of the game, and the players are going to lean on that in today’s contest.
Moreno said guard Lucia Gonzalez leads the way and brings a lot of energy to the team.
Regina Tovar and Maria Del Pozo are two others he said have been solid this season, but he credited the entire squad for contributing to every game.
The Lady Bloodhounds will ride their depth and chemistry on the court as they aim to keep their stellar season alive.
“We’re very confident. I know Fort Bend is in the playoffs so they have to be good, but I think we have a very good shot at winning this game,” Moreno said. “They’ve been playing together, so they already know each other. They’re comfortable on the court with each other. Everyone has put something into every game. … I had a feeling that we could go pretty far, so it’s been a pretty special season. Hopefully we can go all the way.”
