Basketball Game Preview: La Joya Coyotes vs. Harlingen Cardinals

The La Joya Coyotes will challenge the Harlingen Cardinals at 3:30 p.m. on Friday. Expect the scorekeeper to be kept busy: if their previous games are any indication, both will really light up the scoreboard.

La Joya is coming into the match on the come-up as their season has now been buoyed by two straight victories. They snuck past Austin Achieve Northeast with a 58-54 win on Saturday.

La Joya relied on the efforts of Anthony Romero, who went 8 for 13 on his way to 18 points and six rebounds, and Owen Benoit, who went 6 of 11 on his way to 19 points and five rebounds. Those 18 points gave Romero a new career-high. The team also got some help courtesy of Eric Garcia, who posted eight points and three steals.

Meanwhile, Harlingen unfortunately witnessed the end of their eight-game winning streak on Monday. They received a blow as they fell 76-59 to Edinburg North. The loss was a bit of a surprise, as the Cardinals came into the game with a sizable advantage in MaxPreps' Texas basketball rankings (they are ranked 143rd, while the Cougars are ranked 411th).

Harlingen's defeat dropped their record down to 20-4. As for La Joya, their victory bumped their record up to 8-16.

La Joya beat Harlingen 81-70 in their previous meeting back in November of 2020. One of the biggest obstacles trying to stand in the way of that victory was Harlingen's Ryan Sanchez, who went 5 of 10 on his way to 19 points. Now that he won't be playing on Friday, will it be easier for La Joya to walk away with another win? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.