By Corey Kwok
Wednesday February 8
Gabrielino 62, El Monte 37
(San Gabriel) – Gabrielino trailed early, but finished the opening stanza up 17-8 off a 14-4 run before cruising to a 62-37 win over El Monte.
The Eagles clinched at least a share of the MVL crown with the win, and can capture the title outright with a victory over Arroyo in Friday night’s showdown at home in the Tongva Arena.
Cameryn Matthews led the cleanup brigade with 15 rebounds and added 11 points for the double-double, stole the ball twice, and dropped one dime for The Tribe, who was led in scoring by 13 points from Stephen Franco. Freshman wingman Eli Peters deposited 11 points, blocked two shots, and collected six of his nine boards in the fourth quarter.
The Eagle defense did its part with an overall excellent job on the boards and yielded only one double digit quarter to El Monte (third). Jorge Caldera led it with three baskets towards a team high nine points, while Johnny Casillas provided EM with 8 including a pair of huge 3-pointers from deep. Alex Berumen nullified two Gabrielino baskets by taking charge-fouls.
High scoring point guard Tyler Shimamoto registered three steals and three assists but couldn’t get in any scoring groove from the field with a season low one point before leaving the game late in the third after sustaining a scary, brutal foul while chasing after a rebound. Shimamoto is now a 50-50 game time decision for Friday’s big game with bruised hips. His freshman backup, Sean Takeuchi, already a starter, is expected to man the point for Gabrielino. George Messropian, a prominent off-the-bench contributor who gave the Eagles eight points and four assists, will fill in the other guard vacancy.
(14-8, 8-1) Gabrielino: 17, 12, 17, 16 — 62
(7-19, 3-6) El Monte: 8, 7, 15, 7 — 37
GHS: Franco 13, Matthews 11, Peters 11, Messropian 8, Cole Hoffman 5, Nathan Quach 5, Takeuchi 4, Francisco Aguilar 2, Stephen Faux 2, Shimamoto 1
EMHS: Caldera 9, Casillas 8, Deon Tang 5, Stewart Barrios 4, Ronnie Madrid 3, Memo Silva 3, Omar Juarez 2, Jacob Moran 2, Berumen 1
Arroyo 47, South El Monte 35
(Arroyo) – Explosive performances have been the norm for Primitivo Gomez all season, and he again lit up the Vern Nelson Fieldhouse with 27 points for the Knights, who overcame a flat start and physically tough South El Monte defense to grind out a key 47-35 win for Arroyo, who avoided MVL title elimination.
The Knights (14-11), 7-2 in the MVL against Gabrielino’s 8-1, must beat The Tribe at GHS this Friday night to force a league title split. South fell to 3-16 overall and is 1-8 in league.
Gomez, in addition, hit a hat trick of treys and contributed a team high nine rebounds. Edgar Lupercio accented the Knights’ perimeter with two bombs and was next in line with nine points, two assists, and a block. Peter Aholoka funneled three assists and flew over for a shot swat.
Ryan Tran, Luis Ribaya, Nick Morgan, Jesus Garcia, and Alex Arriaga (6 rebounds, 2 blocks) all had a cookie each.
Arroyo: 7, 15, 10, 15 — 47
SEM: 7, 6, 9, 13 — 35
Mountain View 39, Rosemead 37
The last automatic playoff spot in the MVL was decided tonight as Mountain View “got in” by squeaking out a 39-37 thriller over Rosemead at the Panthers’ arena. There was a different leader at the end of each stanza. Both squads had their biggest output in the second quarter which was won by the Vikings 16-11.
(13-12, 5-4) Mt View: 5, 16, 6, 12 — 39
(8-14, 3-6) Rosemead: 8, 11, 9, 9 — 37
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