Tigers cruise to top spot in West Yosemite League with convincing 66-58 win against visiting Bullpups

Lemoore hopes to hang on to its tenuous lead when it travels to Visalia on Wednesday for a game against Redwood.

The Lemoore girls’ basketball team wasn’t as fortunate, running into a buzz saw in the form of the Lady Bullpups. Hanford defeated the Tigers 67-23 and cemented its hold on first place, remaining unbeaten at 5-0.

Lemoore’s girls fell to 2-3 in the WYL and will host Redwood on Jan. 23.

Jayden Jones comes up with a slam dunk Friday night in the LHS Event Center as the Tigers defeated Hanford 66-58.

Gary Feinstein/Feinsteinfotos

The Tigers led the entire game until the fourth period when Hanford outscored the Tigers 20-14, cutting Lemoore’s lead to just eight points. The Tigers got balanced scoring, including a team-high 13 points from Jayden Bray and 11 from Jaden Jones. Jones’ six-point output in the third, coupled with Bray’s five points in the third, increased the Tigers' lead after three periods to 52-38, a healthy 14-point lead that the Tigers managed to preserve.

The Tigers also got eight points each from Juelein Fox and Jonathan Mora. Leading the Bullpups in scoring were Juaron Watts-Brown with 16 points and Cesar Mota’s 11.

The Bullpups fell to 2-3 in the WYL and are 11-7 overall.

In the girls’ game in Hanford, the Tigers ran up against a team that now leads the league with a perfect 5-0 mark. The Bullpups are also 15-4 overall. Lemoore kept up with Hanford in the first, falling behind just 14-10. But Hanford outscored Lemoore 14-2 in the second and then rolled to the easy win.