Lemoore's hoop teams open WYL play with pair of victories, lose to Dinuba in overtime

Friday, January 10, 2014 - 10:35am

Erick Perry eyes the basket in game against West.

Photo by Bill Burris, Photography for Kings County

Despite outplaying Dinuba in the first half, 27-20, and still leading 40-35 at the end of three quarters, the boys’ basketball team could not maintain that lead and watched as the Emperors forced the game into overtime where Dinuba outscored Lemoore 10-4 and won in Thursday night’s non-league contest 64-58.

Lemoore fell to 9-6 on the season as they return to West Yosemite League play with a January 15 contest at Redwood High School. Lemoore won their opener last Tuesday when it beat Hanford West in the Event Center 72-45.

West Yosemite League Standings

In Thursday’s game C.J. Johnson again led the Tigers with 16 points while Erick Perry and Alan Parry each had 11 while Chris Garcia had nine points and Gerald Campbell chipped in with eight.

Tigers beat Hanford West in WYL opener

It’s been a pretty good pre-season for Lemoore’s varsity boys’ basketball team, a team that saw nearly many of last year’s stars graduate.

Coach Joel Sligh’s hard-charging Tigers went 8-5 in the lead up to the start of Tuesday’ West Yosemite League campaign and chalked up one more victory with a surprisingly easy win over Hanford West in the league opener. Lemoore easily beat the Huskies 72-45 to improve to 9-5 on the season of course 1-0 in the WYL.

Lemoore’s varsity girls’ team also won in its opener, a 59-22 victory over hapless Hanford West. The Tigers have an impressive 9-3 record including its initial WYL win.

Lemoore travels to Dinuba for its final pre-season matchup before returning to WYL play with a game at Redwood High School on January 15. The ladies will host Dinuba on Thursday night at 7:30 p.m.

The win against West was the Tigers’ third win in a row. In recent tourney action Lemoore won three of four in the Garces tournament, including a 74-65 win over Tehachapi, a 54-53 victory against Mission Oak, and a 61-55 win over East Bakersfield in the tourney opener. Lemoore’s only loss came at the hands of powerful Bakersfield, a 72-51 win for the Drillers.

On Tuesday the Huskies managed to keep the game close, that is until the second quarter when the Tigers broke open a 13-11 contest by outscoring Hanford West 17-7 in the second period. Lemoore outscored West 42-27 in the second half to run away with the win.

C.J. Johnson led the Tigers with 15 points while Erick Perry tossed in 14 and Jordan Honeywood had 12.

Lemoore's hoop teams open WYL play with pair of victories, lose to Dinuba in overtime

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