2013-14 Warriors Basketball
Dakota Medovitch #20 battles for a rebound against Garces in an SEYL showdown Tuesday night
in Bakersfield. Photo by Henry Barrios, The Bakersfield Californian.
Posted by Zach Ewing, The Bakersfield Californian, on February 4, 2014 Garces' Offense Too Much For THS
In SEYL Showdown
Sheldon Croney dribbled up the court, eyeballed Tehachapi's zone defense and calmly swung a pass into the corner, where Matt Layton was waiting.
Layton buried a 3-pointer, setting the strategy and the tone for Garces' decisive 72-61 home victory in a matchup of unbeatens in the Southeast Yosemite League.
"The boys played hard, and it was nice to see us shoot it well," Rams coach Matt Robles said. "We knew Tehachapi plays a lot of good zone defense, so we talked about being able to knock down those shots."
Layton led the way in that regard, hitting four of Garces' six 3-pointers, including two back-to-back during a 19-5 run that the Rams (15-7, 5-0 SEYL) used to blow the game open in the third quarter.
Layton led the Rams with 21 points, and the rest of Garces' star-studded backcourt also performed well. Rashad Jackson had 18 points, 15 rebounds and four assists, and Sheldon Croney had 16 points, 12 rebounds and five assists.
"Those guys do a great job of penetrating and getting me open, and I've just got to hit the shot," Layton said. "It worked out for the best tonight."
Tehachapi (15-6, 4-1) scored six points in the final 20 seconds of the first half, including a Jonny Saavedra three-point play at the buzzer. That cut the lead to 31-26 Garces.
But the Rams were undeterred. Rashad Jackson, who scored 18 points, hit a 3 to open the second half, and Garces quickly jumped back out by double digits.
"Basketball is a game of runs," Robles said. "They got a little one on us, so we had to settle down and put together another run."
That run kept going and going until Garces opened up a whopping 28-point lead, 70-42, midway through the fourth quarter. The hot shooting of Chris Llamas, who scored 18 points, including six 3s, made the final score respectable, but Tehachapi never led.
"It wasn't as close as 11," said Warriors coach Chris Olofson, whose team has eight sophomores. "They out-rebounded us and beat us back in transition. And those guys, Croney and Jackson, are one of the best tandems around. We just didn't have an answer."
The only negative for Garces in the second half came when Jackson rolled his ankle under the basket after scoring his final points. He hobbled to the sidelines and was still limping after the game.
Robles said Jackson, who was the BVarsity Co-Player of the Year last season, would be re-evaluated this morning.
"It'll be OK, but it's tender," Robles said. "He rolled it pretty good."
Isaiah Johnson scored 22 points to lead Tehachapi, but even there Olofson gave credit to Garces' defense.
"He's the focal point of our offense, and they really did a good job of slowing him down," Olofson said. "You've got to tip your cap to them."
On the other end of the court, Jackson and Croney were either scoring or driving and dishing, and it made for a comfortable victory in what was billed as a showdown for SEYL supremacy.
"It meant a lot," Layton said. "We knew this was a statement game. But we still need to execute for the rest of league and seal the deal."
Warrior Jonny Saavedra comes down with a rebound while Dakota Medovitch looks to assist. Garces defeated the
Warriors 72 to 61 in a SEYL showdown game for first place. Photo by Henry Barrios, The Bakersfield Californian.
Posted by Tom Shea, The Tehachapi News, on February 5, 2014 Warrior Cagers Take Out North and Foothill
Mountain Basketball continued to roll through the first half of the Southeast Yosemite League this past week, taking out North 73-65 and Foothill, 74-45.
Tehachapi (15-5; 4-0 SEYL) had four players score in double digits over North, with Isaiah Johnson finishing with 20 points, Jonny Saavedra 16 points, Chris Llamas 14 points and Micah Fjeld 14 points. Dakota Medovitch, Daniel Wight and Thomas Blewett combined for nine points in other scoring.
Against Foothill, 10 Warriors reached the scoring column, with Johnson finishing with 20, Fjeld 13, Blewett 10 and Philip Baquerizo, Saavedra and Llamas finishing with six points each. Wight chipped in with five points, followed by Mikey Phillips with a three-pointer and Lara Olofson and Gilbert Gutierrez each with a basket.
The Warriors big game with Garces this past Tuesday, which will decide first place in the SEYL at the league’s halfway mark, will be highlighted next week.
In the jayvee ranks, the Braves defeated Foothill 44-43 and lost to North, 44-28. Ryan Kelly had 11 points and Jon Danielson had eight points to lead Tehachapi against Foothill. Carson Bethany had seven points and Daniel Viselli had six points in the loss against North.
The Indians lost to Foothill 49-45 and North 30-25 in basketball this past week. Israel Guerrero had 13 points and Tanner Herman 11 points against Foothill and David Wheeler had a team-high 12 points against North.
