MidValleySports.Com

By Alex A. Gonzalez

Temple City: The Temple City Rams let it fall from the 3-point line Monday night against the visiting El Rancho Dons by dropping 6 of 7 from behind the arc, including going perfect in the second half in their 57-50 win at Temple City High School. 

Junior Dylan Lam led the way for the Rams with 20 points and four rebounds, and Mason Collins controlled the paint with his 12 points, three rebounds, and one block. 

TC opened the game hot when the offense jumped out to a quick 9-0 lead midway through the first eight minutes of play. Elkan Lai got the scoring started when he drained his opening three-point attempt. From there, the Rams press defense caused fits for the Dons and forced two turnovers, which led the team to get out in front 9-0. 

It was when Adam Rivas broke through the press defense with 4:45 remaining in the first quarter that El Rancho was able to get on the board. He then found a sweet spot in the middle of the Rams’ defense and scored four more times to give him all of the Dons 10 points in the first quarter. 

The Rams were able to close out the first period with all of their starters scoring at least once in the quarter, giving them a 20-10 lead after the first period. 

El Rancho found the bottom of the net thanks to Troy Barajas, who took over the offense when he added his three-point basket and drive-in layup to bring his team within 3-points. But that was the closest the Dons got as the Rams were able to respond by going back to their press defense and went on an 11-0 run to close out the first half. 

Justin Wong, Liam Ngo, and Lam all had at least one steal in the 11-0 run, and Lam closed the first half off with a 3-point bucket in the second quarter, sending his team into the locker room up 31-18. 

After the break, the Dons made a run for themselves as the offense relied on Barajas, who scored the first 12 points for El Rancho. Barajas and Rivas brought El Rancho within five points of the Rams, who went scoreless in the six minutes of the third period. 

But that was the closest they would get for the remainder of the game as Lam drained his 3-point try, and Collins added a turnaround hook shoot to end the period. 

Temple City did not allow the Dons to come within six points in the fourth quarter as Barajas went cold in the final period and Rivas struggled to find the basket when he got the ball inside the paint. 

Lam was able to close the game out when he went 5-for-5 from the free throw line, giving the team a 57-50 win.