HOOPS ROUNDUP: San Benito basketball opens 2014 with tough losses; Cats on a tear

By ARMANDO GARZA
Special to the NEWS

The first games of the new year weren’t exactly kind to the San Benito boys and girls basketball teams.

Each squad lost excruciating one-point setbacks in a District 31-5A doubleheader against PSJA High on Friday afternoon at SBHS.

In the early contest, the Greyhound boys fell to the Bears 59-58.

The game was nip and tuck and was tied at 24 at the half before the young ’Hounds went on a tear.

In the third quarter, San Benito surged to a 12-point lead thanks to outscoring the Bears 20-8.

However, PSJA had a rally of its own, surpassing the ’Hounds 19-10 in the final period to take the narrow decision.

For the ’Hounds, Jaime Sanchez led the way with 16 points followed by Ismael Gaitan’s 11 while Smiley Escamilla chipped in 10.

The second part of the double-dip had the Lady ’Hounds in a close battle with the Lady Bears, however PSJA prevailed 39-38.

Like the boys game, the affair was close as San Benito held a 19-18 lead at intermission.

The girls added to their lead in the third period and held a 28-24 advantage heading into the final stanza.

However, PSJA outscored San Benito 15-10 in the period to prevail in the final district game of the first round for both teams.

With the loss, the girls fell to 12-14 overall on the season and 4-4 in district.

No Lady ’Hounds scored in double figures. Rebecca Hartman and Stephanie Castro each led the way with six points each while Giselle Schoenmakers and Jav’ana Gonzalez each chipped in four points.

Not all was lost in area hoops, however, as the Rio Hondo boys stayed hot with a 49-36 victory at home over Raymondville on Friday.

The ’Cats (17-6) have been on a tear as of late as they won the fourth game in their last five outings.

Rio Hondo jumped out to a 15-11 lead after the first quarter and held a 24-20 edge at the break.

But in what’s been a common theme for the Cats, they squeezed defensively and held the Bearkats to just 16 points after intermission. Rio Hondo led 36-27 after three quarters.

For the Bobcats, Daniel Hernandez was on fire and poured in 22 points as the only player in double figures. Nate Adames contributed eight points while Carlos Flores had seven points.