Boys Basketball league play right around the corner
EL CENTRO – The Spartans of Central Union High School hosted the Vincent Memorial Catholic High (VMCHS) Scots for their second match up this season, where the Spartans overpowered the Scots 87-61. The Scots won the first meeting, 66-57.
The Spartans roster was led by Jacob Vargas, who finished with 25 points, followed by Seth Johnson with 17 points, and James Tovar, who added eight points.
“We played really good defense from the start,” Spartan Jared Martin said. “We lost to them a few months ago, so we tried to prepare for this game,” Martin said, who ended the night with 27 points.
“We maintained control of the game, we brought up the ball well, slowed it down and sped it up when we needed to, and overall we just played our game,” he said.
The Scots were led by Francisco Prez-Tejada, who ended with 15 points, Raul Villarreal who finished with 13 points, and Gael Villavicencio contributed eight points to the game.
“We are going to learn from this, watch some film, identify our weaknesses and build on that,” said Scots’ Head Coach Omar Vega. “We have strong leadership on the court, the players communicate well, and heading into DL play it’s about putting all the pieces together.”
On Friday night January 6, the Holtville Vikings hosted the Palo Verde Yellow Jackets for a non-league match up in Holtville. The Yellow Jackets defeated the Vikings 66-39 and improved their overall record to 3-11.
The Brawley Wildcats traveled to take on Yuma’s Cibola Raiders in a non-league match up, falling to the Raiders, 68-39. The Wildcats will enter league play 5-12 overall.
Aside from the Southwest Eagles’ two non-league match ups next week, most of the CIF San Diego Section Southeastern Conference member schools will begin Imperial Valley (IVL) and Desert leagues (DL) play on Tuesday, January 10.
The IVL will kick off with the Calexico Bulldogs hosting the Brawley Wildcats on Tuesday in Calexico. While the two have not met this season, they met twice during the 2021-2022 season, with the Bulldogs having won both match-ups.
The Central Spartans, who are currently 11-7 overall, will begin IVL play by hosting the Palo Verde Yellow Jackets, also on Tuesday, January 10. The two have not met this season, nor did they meet during the 21-22 season.
The Southwest Eagles will not begin IVL play until Friday, January 13 against the Bulldogs in Calexico, who they have yet to face this season. Earlier in the week, the Eagles will hit the road to take on the Christian High School Patriots and host the VMCHS Scots in a local, non-league match up.
In the Desert League, all four teams: Vincent Memorial, Imperial, Holtville, and Calipatria, will play on Tuesday. Imperial enters league play 6-5 overall and, as reigning 21-22 DL Champions, will host the Calipatria Hornets (8-9 overall) for the first time this season. The Tigers defeated the Hornets during each of their three match ups last season.
The Vincent Memorial Scots enter DL play with a 9-3 overall record. The Scots will host the Holtville Vikings (5-8, overall) on Tuesday in Calexico at 7 p.m. During the ‘21-’22 season, the Scots defeated the Vikings twice in non-league match ups.
On Tuesday, January 10, Imperial will host the Calipatria Hornets at 7 p.m. in Imperial. The Bulldogs will host the Brawley Wildcats at 7 p.m. in Calexico. The Central Spartans will host the Palo Verde Yellow Jackets at 7 p.m. in El Centro.