Salinas boys basketball bounces back with win
SALINAS » Any concerns Salinas High boys basketball coach Jerod Stewart had about a loss lingering were squashed the day before in practice.
Less than 48 hours after a heartbreaking one-point setback to Pacific Grove, the Cowboys regained their swagger
Thursday, with a 56-43 win over Alvarez.
“Recovering from a tough loss starts in practice and we had a great practice Wednesday,” Stewart said. “We kept our energy up and our attitudes positive.”
Salinas is 8-2 over its past 10 games, improving to 2-2 in the Gabilan Division.
The Cowboys battled through adversity as they had 15 fouls to
Alvarez’s three through the first three quarters, forcing a pair of starters to the bench.
“Our two sophomores Jacob (Hall) and Isiah Duarte came in and gave us a big boost off the bench tonight,” Stewart said.
Hall became the sixth player to lead Salinas in scoring, finishing with 12 points. Parker Horton and Derek Diaz each had 10 points.
Jerome Brown led a balanced
Alvarez attack with 10 points, while Javey Alvarez and Jordan Lopez both finished with nine. The Eagles were playing with high scoring freshman guard Jalen Brown, who injured his knee last Friday.
NORTH SALINAS 60, SOLEDAD 45 » The Vikings are 2-0 in the Cypress Division, as their defense rose to the occasion in becoming one of two teams still unde
feated in league play.
North Salinas held Soledad to five points in the third quarter to open up a double-digit lead.
Victor Ceja Pena ignited North Salinas with 21 points. Jacob Guico added 13 while Andrew Almaraz finished with 11.
Josiah Freeman had 27 points for Soledad, which fell to 1-1 in the Cypress Division.
KING CITY 65, MARINA 55 » Devin Morales continued his hot start in league play, scoring 22 points as the Mustangs won their fifth straight game.
Levi Hood added 14 points for King City, which is undefeated in the Santa Lucia Division. Angel Trujillo tallied 10 points. The Mustangs will visit Greenfield next Wednesday.
Darren Gabot, Isaiah Rowe and Michael Aguilar all had 12 points for Marina.
OAKWOOD 57, GREENFIELD 47 » Despite 17 points from Ernesto Martinez, the Bruins fell to defending Santa Lucia Division champion Oakwood of Morgan Hill.
Angel Villagomez tallied 13 points for Greenfield, which fell to 1-1 in league play, while Oscar Villagomez finished with 12.
STEVENSON 43, CHRISTOPHER 37 » Luke Driscoll had 17 points as the Pirates tamed Christopher. Sam Fontaine added 11 points while Benjamin Soria scored eight and Evan Johnson had seven.
Men’s basketball
CSUMB 83, SONOMA STATE 63 » Andrew Ferguson erupted for a career-high 34 points as the Otters put together arguably their best effort of the year in picking up their second straight win.
CSUMB has its most wins in four years, improving to 6-11 overall. It is 4-4 at home this year.
“Tonight was a great effort from start to finish,” CSUMB men’s coach Isaac Williams said. “Obviously we have lots of season left to play. But we feel good about our trajectory.”
Damian Wilson added 13 points for the Otters, while Tommy Kramer and Mike Johnson both had 11. Wilson also had a team-high five assists and shared team-high honors with Ferguson in rebounds with 11. Kramer added four assists.
CSUMB will host San Franciso State on Saturday.
Girls basketball
GREENFIELD 37, SANTA CATALINA 27 » Jo Ojeda dropped in 15 points as the Bruins remained one of two teams still undefeated in the Santa Lucia Division.
Evanly Hernandez pulled down 11 rebounds for Greenfield, which improved to 4-0 in league and 6-5 overall.
Maddy Foletta led Santa Catalina with 10 points. Selma Ruiz added eight points and seven boards, while Liliana Pedroni finished with seven points, four boards and three steals.
STEVENSON 56, ST. FRANCIS 32 » Dana Diniz led three players in doubles figures with 13 points as the Pirates improved to 12-3 overall and 2-0 in the Cypress Division.
Kailey Clymo added 11 points for Stevenson, while Rhea Cosand tallied 10. Gaby Perez finished with nine points.
ALISAL 63, GILROY 27 » The Trojans improved to 2-0 in the Mission Division, increasing their home record to 6-1 this season after a 36-point win.
Mikaela Arista scored 22 points for Alisal, which is 11-4 overall this season. Briana Mejia and Karla Ruiz both chipped in with 10 points.
CHRISTOPHER 54, NORTH COUNTY 44 » Julie Alvizo and Mikayla Villanueva each scored 13 points, while
Sam Flores recorded 13 rebounds as the Condors saw their two-game winning streak snapped.
MONTEREY 61, RANCHO SAN JUAN 24 » Sharrell McDowell had 13 points and nine rebounds as the Toreadores improved to 5-0 in the Santa Lucia Division.
McKenna Hersch added seven points and eight rebounds for Monterey, which has already surpassed last year’s entire win total. Freshman Mia Henson scored seven points.
Evita Villalobos scored nine points for Rancho San Juan.
ALVAREZ 55, WATSONVILLE 45 » Isabella Soto and Kylie Rea combined for 37 points as the Eagles evened their Mission Division record at 1-1.
Soto finished with 20 points for Alvarez, while Rea tallied 17, helping the Eagles snap a six-game losing skid.
Girls soccer
SANTA CATALINA 2, STEVENSON 1 » Portia Randall scored the game-winning goal and assisted on the first goal as the Cougars evened their league record to 1-1-1.
Angie Leissner scored the first goal for Santa Catalina, while Kate Larson assisted on the game-winner. Natalia Ochoa Zavala scored for the Pirates.
GILROY 2, NORTH SALINAS 1 » Brianna Bravo scored on an assist from Sofia Camacho as the Vikings fell to 1-1 in the Mission Division in a battle of unbeatens.
Women’s basketball
SONOMA STATE 73, CSUMB 45 » Shooting a season-low 21 percent from the field, the Otters couldn’t keep up with Sonoma State.
Sylvia Vartazarian led CSUMB with 11 points while Camille Parker pulled down 11 rebounds. Siana Fields had a team-high three steals.