Efrain Carrillo led all scorers with 16
(El Monte) – Arroyo went on an 8-1 run to open the fourth quarter and went on to beat El Monte 45-35 in the Mission Valley League opener Wednesday night at Vern Nelson Fieldhouse.
Arroyo led by just two at the half and increased the lead to four by the end of the third. The Knights then turned up the defensive heat to start the final period and picked up four quick baskets.
Martin Tran and Carlos Lupercio scored off turnovers that led to fast break lay ups while Efrain Carrillo and Mark Roche scored inside. Arroyo hit five free throws down the stretch to finally put it away.
Both teams struggled out of the gate. Tran hit a pair of buckets for Arroyo in the first quarter as the Knights led 9-3 after one. El Monte warmed up in the second to cut the led to two. Eddie Landeros scored six points and Carlos Gonzalez had four to spark the Lions.
El Monte took its first lead of the game in the third when Manuel Mendoza knocked down a three for a 27-26 lead. It was short lived however with Arroyo outscoring El Monte 6-1 the rest of the quarter for a four point advantage heading into the fourth.
Carrillo led all scorers with 16 with most of his points coming down in the paint. Tran finished with 10 and Roche added 9. El Monte had only five players in the scoring column. Landeros led the team with 15 and Mendoza totaled 7.
Arroyo improved to 6-7 overall with its first league win. The Lions dropped to 5-12.
EM 3 16 9 7 35
A 9 12 11 13 45
EM: Landeros 15, Yang 5, Gonzalez 4, Mendoza 7, Aguiniga 4.
A: Lupercio 2, Tran 10, Miller 2, Rivera 1, Salazar 2, Marco Monsivaiz 3, Carrillo 16, Roche 9.
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