Warriors Basketball
Warrior Garrett Snider came off the bench to spark the Warriors in a late rally against West Bakersfield.
Unfortunately, West won the game, and the Warriors finished 3-7 in SYL play for 2017. (Photo by The Tehachapi News.)
Posted by John Nelson, The Tehachapi News, on February 19, 2017 Warriors Draw 12-0 Chavez In CIF First Round
The plan is simple, really.
“Win and move on, or lose and the season is over,” Warriors boys basketball coach Louie Saavedra said.
The Warriors drew the No. 12 seed in the CIF-CS Division III tournament and were matched against fifth-seeded Chavez in Delano in their first-round game on Wednesday, Feb. 22. “Looking at Chavez on film, they are very fast, feisty, will play you man-to-man the entire game and they have some good shooters,” Saavedra said.
The Warriors were hoping that a victory over West in their final game of the season on Wednesday, Feb. 15 would give them a single-digit seeding and a first-round home game.
It didn't work out that way, though, as West beat the Warriors 67-51 in Bakersfield. The loss gave the Warriors a 12-15 record, 3-7 and fourth place in the South Yosemite League.
“We played West very tough, but we just came up short,” Saavedra said.
The Warriors played the game without the services of senior point guard David Wheeler, who was sidelined for personal reasons, Saavedra said.
“David has been our most consistent scorer all season long,” Saavedra said.
The Warriors committed 17 turnovers in the first half, falling behind 32-14 at halftime. Although they cut the turnovers to seven in the second half and got within 9 points as they battled back, they were unable to catch the Vikings.
“The second half, we came out on fire, but we never went on a huge run,” Saavedra said.
Saavedra said his players showed “high energy” in the locker room, and they talked about needing “a few players to step up off the bench.”
Reserve Garrett Snider did just that, scoring 11 points off the bench for Tehachapi. Carson Bethany led the Warriors with 21 points, and Jesus Sanchez had 14.
The Warriors should have Wheeler back for the playoffs against Chavez, which won the South Sequoia League with a 12-0 record this season and was 24-1 overall. Chavez's only loss was to West last Dec. 16. Since then, Chavez has won 16 in a row.
“We have to applaud ourselves because we made it to playoffs,” Saavedra said. “Now it's one game at a time.
“Our seniors have stepped it up the last week, and I'm hoping we continue working hard as a team and make a deep run into playoffs.”
Warrior Ben Dayton dribbles up the court in game action against West Bakersfield. West won the contest,
the Warriors finishing 3-7 in SYL play in 2017. (Photo by The Tehachapi News.)
