Warriors cruise, sweep Raiders

Senior Jaylen CrockerJohnson helped Warren overcome a sluggish first quarter to cruise past Taft 64-48 on Saturday afternoon at Harlan District Gym.

The Warriors (24-6, 10-2) remain in second place in the District 29-6A standings. Taft (16-12, 6-5) fell to fourth in the district standings behind Harlan, which leapfrogged the Raiders at 7-5 with a 65-63 win over Stevens on Saturday.

After Taft beat Warren 54-48 in a tournament Nov. 18, the Warriors swept the season series by an average score of 13.5 points.

“That was an early-season tournament; we had just lost a game an hour before that,” Warren coach Kyle Smith said. “Not that you’re trying not to win those games, but [we] just came out and played with different rotations and lineups. When you get in your league play, that’s when you focus in and find ways to win.”

Taft junior Marcus Williams hit two 3-pointers to spark a 12-0 Raiders run, capped by senior JD Riojas’ 3-pointer to beat the first-quarter buzzer and give the Raiders a 17-8 lead.

Cocker-Johnson scored 11 points in the second quarter to pull the Warriors out of their early hole.

After tying the game at 21, Warren senior Sebastian Valle hit a 3-pointer to give the Warriors a 3-point lead at halftime.

The Warriors held Williams and Riojas scoreless in the second and third quarters.

"We just kind of stuck with our matchups and figured we would ride it out,” Smith said. “It ended up working out.”

Crocker-Johnson hit a 3pointer to push the lead into double figures in the third quarter. Mendez came back on the next play and hit another 3-pointer.

In the fourth quarter, Crocker-Johnson blocked a shot on the defensive end, sending the ball to Mendez, who drove the length of the floor and finished with a layup to light up the crowd.

Crocker-Johnson hit another 3-pointer later in the quarter to finish with 21 points.

Mendez scored 16 points, and freshman Devin Peterson added nine points off the bench in the victory. Williams led Taft with 16 points. Riojas and senior Demetrice Mims had 10 points.

“I just liked our grit today,” Smith said. “It wasn’t one of our better games; offensively [we] looked a little slow, a little out of sync. But we just got down and guarded, which is a sign of a good team that can win multiple ways.”

Warren will next face first-place Brennan at Northside Sports Gym, while Taft will face Stevens at Paul Taylor Field House in a battle of teams vying for one of the final playoff spots with two and a half weeks left in the regular season. Both games are 7:30 p.m. Wednesday.

Charlie Blalock/Contributor Warren’s Emery Benton drives in for a layup during the first quarter of Saturday’s game against Taft at Harlan High School.