Brandon Torimaru poured in 22 points to lead the Rams to victory.
By Alex Gonzalez
(Temple City) — Brandon Torimaru and Nathan Kuoch combined for 36-points, including 8-14 shooting from behind the arc in the Rams 55-47 win over South Pasadena Tuesday night at Temple City High School.
Right at tip-off, the Tigers looked to get into the win column after dropping their Rio Hondo opener to San Marino. South Pas jumped to a quick 8-0 to start. After a quick timeout by the Rams three minutes into the game, TC was able to gain control and respond with a run of its own to end the first quarter tied at 13 apiece.
Fast forward to the second half, TC held a 30-24 advantage to start the third quarter, however that quickly changed when the Tigers went on a 15-3 run to pull ahead. Louis Jamerson led the way for the Tigers on defense who forced the Rams to six third-quarter turnovers.
Shooting for Temple City didn’t help the cause either. The Tigers held them to only one bucket throughout the third quarter.
“They -South Pasadena- played hard, give credit to them, they trapped and we kinda freaked out a little bit. My goal was to try to calm my team down and I think when we calmed down a little bit, we made the easier pass and got easier looks,” said TC head coach Eric Chin.
The fourth quarter, however, was a different story. The Rams were able to break through the Tigers’ full-court trap and find open looks for Torimaru, Kuoch and Gilbert Cai who found Torimaru in the corner for a wide open three to take the lead late in the final frame.
“We just wanted to play hard, and get the win,” said Torimaru “My teammates trusted me, they gave me the ball and I tried to knock down my shots. We wanted the dub and hopefully, we’ll go 10-0 in the league.”
With the win, Temple City moves to 2-0 in league and 12-7 overall. They look to extend their four-game winning streak against San Marino this Friday at San Marino High School.
The Tigers fall to 0-2 in league play and 2-14 overall and look to bounce back when they travel to La Cańada.
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