Bears win nail-biter against Jaguars

PHARR — The PSJA Bears clutched it here at home against the Economedes Jaguars for their first district win in 31-6A. The home squad held onto a late lead for the victory, 46-43. What was essentially a battle of endurance, both teams traded baskets from the start of the game.

For most of the first quarter and a bit of the second, the Jaguars were all over the boards and Bryan Rodriguez hit the first 8 points for his squad. As the away team was dialing from downtown, the Bears really struggled to hit from the three-point line and let alone deal with the defensive press.

The largest that the Jaguars led in the game was seven points in the first half, 20-13.

Later in the second half, after a Jaguars’ timeout, the away squad built themselves a six-point lead.

Down in the fourth, Jaidon Anderson — senior point guard for the Bears — provided a much needed spark for the home squad. Anderson not only provided a couple of buckets for the team, but he also helped break the press and dished out some assists to his teammates for buckets in the paint.

The guard attributed “chemistry” with his teammates for the much-needed run late in the fourth quarter.

“It’s just the chemistry,” Anderson said. “This team is just really good. I love those guys.”

More so, this victory is the first district dub for the club in a very competitive 31-6A.

Asked about how the win made the senior feel, Anderson said it was a great feeling — not only for him but for the rest of the seniors.

“I feel pretty good. We’ve been having pretty good practices and trainings,” he said.

Head Coach Josue Sanchez said that this group of players for the PSJA Bears is really special following the district win.

“This group is really special They’ve given me a lot of effort. I’m talking about the seniors and they did a great job in practice, stepping up,” Sanchez said. “They’ve been working hard all year.”