_0.jpg)
Tigers will face powerful Ridgeview in Division II title game Friday night in Fresno
The Tigers got past Memorial with a combination of rebounding and plain old-fashioned hard work – not to mention 23 points from their talented big man Jaylunn English as well as several timely 3-point shots from guard Roger Wilson. Wilson finished with 15 points while workhouse forward Matt Borba quietly hustled his way to 12 points.
Borba, English and Spencer Stinger were also demons on the boards, fighting on the offensive and defensive ends of the court, dominating the Panthers.
Lemoore will face Ridgeview High School, sort of an old nemesis, on Friday at 8 p.m. in Fresno’s Selland Arena. The Tigers’ football team, a few of whom also play a fairly good game of basketball, lost to Ridgeview in the Division II football playoffs in October, so while the Tigers probably wish they’d won the football title, they will certainly look forward to meeting Ridgeview again.
No. 1 Ridgeview earned the right to play Lemoore Friday night by beating No. 4 Mission Oak 77-61. The Wolf Pack is 28-1 going into Friday night’s game and was undefeated in the South Yosemite League.
The Tigers, fielding a pretty solid team themselves, will enter Selland Arena sporting an impressive 25-3 record.
While English and Wilson found the net most often, one of the key playmakers Tuesday night had to be Allen Perryman whose spot-on passes underneath the basket, and his own 10-point effort, helped put the Tigers in the second-half driver’s seat.
“It’s nice,” said Perryman that his team will be playing in the Division II title game. “I’m glad we really beat Memorial tonight. This was our main focus, to win a Valley championship. It’s our first time going to the Valley championship and we’re all excited to be able to play in that game.”
Memorial certainly had Lemoore’s number in the first half. Thanks to 21 points from Memorial point guard Lunden Taylor, and some torrid shooting from the 3-point arc, the Panthers led Lemoore at the half 34-31. The Tigers obviously needed to regroup for the second half if they wanted to have a shot at that Central Section championship.
“We just talked about working on our defense,” said Perryman. “We needed to stop their shooters because that’s all they really had − was their shooters. We just came out with a lot more intensity and came out with the win.”
Despite eight points from English in the opening quarter and a pair of buckets from Borba, the Tigers fell behind 19-16 at the break.
Jaylunn quickly tied the contest at 19-19 with his 3-point bucket early in the second period, and the first of Wilson’s three, 3-point baskets gave Lemoore a 22-21 lead, but the Tigers just couldn’t shake the Panthers as Memorial kept close and managed to take a 34-27 lead with about a minute to play in the half. Borba’s basket and a pair of free throws from English cut the gap to 34-31 at the half.
A fired up Tiger offense came out smoking in the second half as English cut the gap to 34-33 and Wilson’s 3-point basket put the Tigers up by two at 36-34. Still in the third quarter, Wilson hit his final shot from beyond the arc as the Tigers went up 41-36 and never looked back.
The closest Memorial got to the Tigers in the final period was when Pardeep Gill sank two free throws to cut Lemoore’s lead to just four at 59-54, but English immediately responded with a 3-point shot at the 3:27 mark to keep Lemoore ahead for good.
