Basketball Recap: Mason Lopez Leads a Balanced Attack to Beat Pioneer

Pharr-San Juan-Alamo North lost to Pioneer back in December of 2024, but they didn't allow them the same satisfaction on Tuesday. The Pharr-San Juan-Alamo North Raiders came out on top against the Pioneer Diamondbacks by a score of 71-63. The victory made it back-to-back wins for the Raiders.

Multiple players turned in solid performances to lead Pharr-San Juan-Alamo North to victory, but perhaps none more so than Mason Lopez, who went 6 of 11 on his way to 31 points and five boards. The contest was Lopez's fourth in a row with at least ten points. Another player making a difference was Isaiah Garza, who posted 15 points in addition to seven rebounds and six assists.

Pharr-San Juan-Alamo North was working as a unit and finished the game with 19 assists. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Pioneer only posted 12 assists.

Despite the loss, Pioneer still got an impressive performance from Muhamed Shaath, who went 10 for 18 en route to 24 points along with eight boards and four steals. Shaath is on a roll when it comes to points, as he's now scored 15 or more in the last nine games he's played. Matthew Maldonado was another key player, going 6 of 12 on his way to 17 points.

Pharr-San Juan-Alamo North is on a roll lately: they've won three of their last four matchups, which provided a nice bump to their 14-13 record this season. The wins came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 65.8 points per game. As for Pioneer, their loss dropped their record down to 12-15.

Pharr-San Juan-Alamo North wasted no time getting back out on the court and has already played their next game, a 60-56 defeat against Vela on the 17th. As for Pioneer, they also didn't take long to hit the court again: they've already played their next contest, an 81-39 loss against McAllen Memorial on the 17th.