Cardinals down Cougars to claim C.E. Vail Tournament championship

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LA FERIA — The championship game of the 93rd Annual C.E. Vail Tournament at La Feria High School came down to a pair of Class 6A powers as the Harlingen High Cardinals and Edinburg North Cougars went toe-to-toe in hopes of bringing home some hardware.

One-point separated the two at the half, but a third-quarter surge from Harlingen created some distance as the Cardinals went on to secure a 65-55 victory over the Cougars on Saturday to finish first at this year’s C.E. Vail tourney.

“It’s a great accomplishment. Anytime you can come in here and win a tournament with quality teams, it’s a tough thing to do,” Harlingen head coach Clayton Cretors said. “Five straight victories against quality opponents is tough so I’m extremely proud of the team effort. The way the guys came together and the contributions everybody made.”

The Cardinals (19-3) and Cougars (14-9) exchanged bucket for bucket during the first half as the lead see-sawed back-and-forth.

North sophomore Raul Palacios had the hot-hand early with 16 first-half points, while Luis Rodriguez poured in 10 during the first and second quarters to keep Harlingen on track.

At the break, Cretors emphasized cutting down on turnovers to his team and the Cardinals listened. Not soon after, they were in command.

Harlingen went on to outscore North 19-8 during the third quarter to take a 54-42 lead entering the fourth. The Cardinals took care of the ball and kept it moving to find easy looks inside from Ernesto Aleman and Alex Hernandez, while Rodriguez and Aaron Benavidez did their damage from the perimeter and by pushing the pace.

“I talked to them at halftime about our turnovers; we had six turnovers in the first quarter. I told them if we want to beat quality teams we gotta take care of the ball, so that was our priority coming out of the half,” Cretors said. “Taking care of the ball, trying to get to the hoop a little bit more and then playing off of where the help was coming from, and we were able to break it open a little bit and maintain that lead and get the victory.”

“Sometimes we’re a slow-starting team, but in that third quarter, once we got back on the court, that’s where the energy came out. We have that locker room talk, discuss what we’re doing right and wrong and go from there,” Rodriguez said.

Harlingen’s Aleman was a problem in the paint for all four quarters as the senior finished with a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds. He went on to earn the tournament’s Most Valuable Player award. Rodriguez, who finished with 15 points, was also named to the all-tournament team. Benavidez added 13 points in the championship game.

“It took hard work and coming together as a team to get it done in the end,” Aleman said. “It was intense but we just played as a team.”

Palacios led the Cougars with a game-high 22 points. Jose Ramirez finished in double figures with 11 points, while Roel Palacios and Josiah Cruz chipped in with nine and seven, respectively. Raul Palacios and Cruz also earned all-tournament team honors.

Weslaco High finished third-place in the tourney by beating the hosting La Feria Lions 65-48 in the third-place game Saturday. Weslaco’s lone loss on the weekend came against Harlingen High in the semis, while La Feria’s only loss was against Edinburg North on Saturday in the semifinals. La Feria defeated Edinburg North 67-54 on Day 1 of the tournament.

Next for Edinburg North is a non-district test against Los Fresnos at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at Edinburg North High School. Harlingen High, meanwhile, is set for a rematch against Weslaco High at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at Harlingen High School. The Cardinals defeated the Panthers 61-53 in the C.E. Vail semifinals on Saturday.

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