San Pedro defeats Firebaugh in regionals
SAN PEDRO >> San Pedro's boys basketball team rallied from an early deficit with some physical defense, timely 3-point shooting and a balanced offense to defeat Firebaugh 78-65 in the second round of the CIF State Division V Southern California regional playoffs on Thursday night.
The Pirates struggled against the size and athleticism of the Falcons in the first half. They faced a ninepoint deficit in the early minutes of the second quarter but buckled down defensively and began to swing the momentum their way.
San Pedro (23-11) cut the deficit to one at halftime at 31-30 and pulled away in the second half. The Pirates' lead grew to 15 points.
San Pedro now takes on North tonight at 7 in the semifinals.
San Pedro coach John Bobich said the ball movement combined with their different defensive schemes allowed them to take control of the game.
“Once we settled down and understood we were able to get the ball side-toside within our offense, that calmed us down,” Bobich said. “I give my kids a lot of credit, we ended up playing five different defenses. They kept coming at us, they were in control. We kept switching things up until we got the right answers. I give my kids a lot of credit, the defensive effort that they gave to change the tempo of the game was the key.”
The other key for San Pedro was its offensive balance with four players scoring in double figures and hitting big shots at critical times. They were led by senior forward Chim Emegwa, who scored a team-high 16 points and added seven rebounds.
He thought the ball movement was the key to getting their offense going.
“Coach (Bobich) just said to keep moving the ball side-to-side,” Emegwa said. “Try to get the best shot. If Noah (Simpson) drives in the paint, then kick it out or dump it off, just keep moving the ball.”
Junior guard Zach Saavedra
added 13 points and four assists, scoring nine points in the second half, including a couple of huge 3s to start the third quarter that gave the Pirates the lead for good.
Sophomore guard Ricky
Alonso scored 11 points with three steals, knocking down three 3-pointers, including two in the second quarter that allowed San Pedro to gain momentum offensively.
The Pirates bench also provided a spark as sophomore guard AJ Bobich scored 10 of his 11 points in the second half and Elias Mitchell added nine points.
Another major factor for San Pedro was the play of Simpson, who stuffed the stat sheet. He only scored seven points, but added 14 rebounds, four assists, and three steals.
It was all about winning for Simpson who wasn't ready to see this season end.
“I really just wanted to win the game,” Simpson said. “I didn't want to feel a loss; I didn't want to feel that.
“I put all of my energy into that.”
For Firebaugh (19-12), it was a tough way to end its season after a promising start in this game, but the Falcons struggled to score in the second half against the Pirates' defense and couldn't keep up with their 3-point shooting.
Firebaugh coach Stephon Price said San Pedro's 3-point shooting in the third quarter changed the game.
“They were a good 3-point shooting team, I knew that going in,” Price said. “I just feel like it slipped away when they went on a 9-0 run, got the crowd into it. It was tough to battle back into the game.”
The Falcons were led by senior guard Aaron Banks, who finished with 19 points and four rebounds. Senior forward Teiahijo Gilpen also scored 19 points adding seven rebounds, six steals, and three blocks.
Banks worked hard for all 19 of those points against the Pirates' physical perimeter defense.
“They played a really good zone, doing a good job of packing up the paint,” Banks said, “so it was hard to drive.”