By Corey Kwok
Baldwin Park 71, San Gabriel 58
Baldwin Park, (3-0), hit a deuce and a pair of threes during the last 1:08 of the third to pull away from a see saw battle. The Braves carried a nine point lead into the fourth before wrapping it up with a 12-2 run to claim a 71-58 win over San Gabriel, (0-2).
Braves guard Tomas Montes knocked down 5 of 7 from three point land and led all scorers with 19 points. Post player Joey De La Torre went 6 of 7 in the paint for 12 and snatched ten rebounds and had two steals. Wingman Jimmy Ramirez scored another 14 on 6 for 10 field goals forward Fernie Morelos picked up 13 points, 6 boards and 4 takeaways.
The Matadors started well with a Dennis Le three point play and a pair of Derek Thai free throws for a 5-0 lead but Baldwin Park put together an 11-2 run to go ahead 11-7 halfway through the first.
The Braves put tremendous pressure on the SG offense in the second forcing two 10 second backcourt violations and a host of other turnovers that kept the Mats out of the frontcourt for well over a minute. BP took advantage offensively with a 12-0 blitz for a 30-18 lead before SG broke the ice and got back in the fray at 32-25 on five Alex Torres points and a pair at the line from Antonio Romero.
Thai was 5 of 8 from the field and converted all four shots at the charity stripe for a team high 16 points. Eric Martinez was next with 10 followed by 9 from both Torres and Romero.
SG 16 9 21 12 – 58
BP 18 14 23 16 – 71
SG – Thai 16, Martinez 10, Romero 9, Torres 9, Alvaro Loya 6 (4 stl), Le 4, Mayor Cheng 4
BP – Montes 19, Ramirez 14, Morelos 13, De La Torre 12, Eddie Gamboa 4, Gus Vasquez 4, Jared Ojeda 3, Andy Medina 2
Gabrielino 62, Contreras 29
Gabrielino, (1-1), turned runs of 12-0 and 13-0 and also had 20 steals. 14 turnovers by Contreras, (0-3), also contributed to the 62-29 rout.
Robert Kou, Anthony Ching (12 points), and Josh Acosta (8 points, 10 rebounds) each snagged four steals apiece. Ryan Lam led the Eagles’ offense, scoring 16 points including two threes and a hat trick of steals immediately returned for buckets.
The Cobras got no closer than four, 9-5, with 3:30 to go in the first on Cecil Works’ triple. Works (18 points, 7 rebounds) led all scorers hitting eight of 27 attempts. Freshman Pearce Coleman scored 7, but there was not much else left on the Contreras side.
Aron Castrellon got hot in the fourth scoring 9 of his 13 points as he made four consecutive shots including a trey from the left wing. Keith Clapp added a pair of reverse layups.
C 7 9 6 7 – 29
G 18 12 15 17 – 62
C – Works 18, Coleman 7, Derrick Johnson 4 (9 reb)
G – Lam 16, Castrellon 13, Ching 12, Acosta 8, Clapp 4, Kou 3, Tim Reyes 2, Nolan Tcheng 2, James Epstein 2
Crossroads 59, Mountain View 49
Crossroads took advantage of several key turnovers to turn away a Mountain View comeback and win 59-49.
Roadrunner wingman Aaron Irmas lit up the scoreboard for 26 points including a 27 foot bomb and he also nailed 8 of 9 at the free throw line. Aptly named forward Josh Flyer flew up to snatch nine rebounds and also blocked a shot in addition to 11 points scored. Point guard Luke Shmuger added 10.
Jeremy Acosta, (17 points), and Juan Benitiz, (10 rebounds), played strong in the post while shooters Eric Martinez and Angel Aguilar each drained key triples as the Vikings got back into it during the second half. Aguilar came off of the bench and finished with 11 points making 5 of 6 shot attempts. The Vikings turned it over twice as many times in the first half, (17), as they did in the second, (8).
MV 4 13 17 15 – 49
CR 12 20 9 18 – 59
MV – Acosta 17, Martinez 11, Aguilar 11, Benitiz 6, Jonathan Sanchez 4
CR – Irmas 26, Flyer 11, Shmuger 10, Chester Lindley 6, Ben Lushing 4, Justin Blair 2
Firebaugh 55, Bosco Tech 50
Bosco Tech had the ball and was in position to tie the game, needing a three with 13.9 seconds remaining, but Firebaugh’s Bernard Davis Jr. ripped a pass away at mid court. He then dished to Jihad Rahh who floated in the dagger to lift the Falcons to the 55-50 victory. Firebaugh improved to 2-1 while tournament host Bosco Tech dropped to 1-2. This is Firebaugh’s best start in the schools’ short three year history.
Davis, a starting freshman, finished with a double double of 12 points and 10 rebounds, and powered the defensive end as well with a block and five steals. Teammate and junior point guard Erie French had 11 points to go along with six thefts.
Bosco, backed by consecutive threes from Jeff Miranda, looked to run away as they surged ahead 10-2 early in the first, but the Falcons fought back to take a 13-12 advantage on Rahh’s deuce with 47.6 to go in the period.
The Tigers responded with buckets by Jason Marquez and Joshua Espinoza within the last 38 seconds to take it back, 16-13. Marquez was the leading scorer and rebounder for Bosco with 13 points and nine boards.
Firebaugh got the better of a see-saw second quarter and trailed by one, 27-26 at the break. In the third the Falcons blanked Bosco the last 2:28 with a 7-0 run, topped by a Kevin Galindo three for a 39-35 lead entering the fourth.
Shooting guard Mikey Bejarano splashed a corner three to give the Falcons a 50-44 lead midway through the fourth. They were held scoreless by the Tigers the next 3:33 as the lead was sliced to 50-47 on a pair of Jose Rios free throws.
Andy Gutierrez came off the bench to replace a Bejarano who fouled out, and tossed in a bucket off a dish from French to make it a five point game with 37.9 to go. But Bosco Tech’s Marquez drew a bucket-and-one to give the Tigers new life.
F 13 13 13 16 – 55
BT 16 11 8 15 – 50
F – Davis 12, French 11, Bejarano 9, Rahh 8, Rodrigo Arzate 6, Jesse Siordia 4, Galindo 3, Gutierrez 2
BT – Marquez 13, Miranda 10, Rios 9, Matthew Santos 8, Espinoza 6, Cesar Rocha 4
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