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Tigers fall to Bullpups 75-44 in conclusion of WYL first round
Lemoore fell to 3-3 in WYL play and are 12-9 overall. Hanford leads the WYL with a perfect 6-0 record and got a team-high 15 points from Thomas Spinks. Once again Lemoore's C.J. Johnson led the Tigers with 12 points.
Golden West game
A spirited pep talk early in the third quarter by Tiger Coach Joel Sligh convinced the Tigers that perhaps they had better step it up a notch against visiting Golden West in Thursday's West Yosemite League matchup.
And step it up they did, holding the Blazers scoreless for nearly 10 minutes midway through the third period and most of the fourth as Lemoore crushed Golden West 75-43.
Lemoore's C.J. Johnson tossed in 19 points and Chris Garcia had 14 as the Tigers improved to 3-2 in WYL action, but it was the Tigers defensive effort in the second half that crushed the Blazers' spirit.
"I told them to go play basketball the way they're supposed to go play basketball," said Sligh. "They know what is right and what's wrong and they know when they're playing well and sometimes they need to be reminded of it, and I gave them an awful strong reminder today. I think there was something about a pride issue and for some reason they needed to be reminded that they're playing for a lot more than just a score."
Johnson began the onslaught early in the third quarter with a thunderous dunk to put the Tigers up 40-34 at about the six minute mark. Moments later Allen Perryman hauled in an offensive rebound and scored. He was fouled on the play but missed the free throw for a 43-34 advantage.
Garcia connected on a three-point play for a 48-39 lead at the 3:49 mark of the third period. The Trailblazers wouldn't score for another 10 minutes as a combination of Lemoore's tenaciousness on defense and the Blazers' poor shooting doomed them.
Another Garcia three-point shot in the fourth quarter put Lemoore up 59-39 and the rout was on. Jordon Honeywood scored two quick buckets, the second off an offensive rebound and Lemoore was up 65-39.
Golden West finally scored with a little over two minutes left in the game.
Lemoore concludes first round play with a Tuesday, January 28 game at Hanford.
El Diamante
A subpar third quarter was all that prevented Lemoore's varsity boys' basketball team from beating El Diamante Tuesday night. The Miners broke open what was virtually a tie game in the third, outscoring Lemoore 19-8 eventually outlasted the Tigers 53-42.
The loss dropped the Tigers to 11-8 overall and 2-2 in the West Yosemite League.
Once again, Lemoore's all-league forward, C.J. Johnson led the Tigers with 16 points. Al Perryman and Chris Garcia each had seven points.
Lemoore will host Golden West Thursday night in the Event Center.
Previous Game
After a slow first-half start, Lemoore’s C.J. Johnson and Chris Garcia came up with key points as their Tigers outlasted a surprisingly strong Mt. Whitney team Friday night in the Event Center 63-58 to keep pace for another West Yosemite League championship.
Johnson scored 13 points in Friday’s win, including nine fourth quarter points in the final period. Johnson also provided the key free throws down the stretch, swishing two from the charity stripe with just 27.4 seconds left to give his squad a 61-58 lead.
Garcia, who finished with 11 points, seven in the fourth quarter, helped the Tigers cause, as he connected on a jumper for a 54-53 Tiger lead. Seconds later he followed with a sizzling three-pointer at the 2:47 mark of the final period to hand the Tigers a 57-53 advantage.
The Tigers’ Al Perryman provided some heroics of his own by making two free throws with 12 seconds left to secure the win.
The Tigers were forced to turn on the afterburners after a strong performance from the Pioneers’ Ethan Moore, who early in the second half put his team up 40-36. With Lemoore leading 35-27 in the opening minutes of the third period, Moore scored eight straight points as the Pioneers regained the advantage. Moore scored on a jumper and two easy layups off Lemoore turnovers. He also had a free throw and scored off an offensive rebound.
Head Coach Joel Sligh was pleased with his team’s play, particularly in the final minutes. “They did a good job of executing in the final minutes, doing the things they needed to do to put away a very well coached team. Execution is the one thing we’ve been talking and harping about the most and they managed to do that in the final minutes. That’s what you base good teams and bad teams on, how well you can execute in the final minutes.”
Even after Garcia’s three-point bomb, the Pioneers didn’t just step aside. They connected on a three-pointer of their own to cut the Tigers’ lead to just one point at 57-56. Perryman scored and then the Pioneers’ Redford Robinson returned the favor and kept his team within a point at 59-58 with just 1:05 left in the game.
It was at that point that Johnson, after a missed shot, hauled in the offensive rebound and was fouled as he went back up for the shot. He calmly swished both free throws and the Tigers never looked back.
Arthur Madison, Jordan Honeywood and Erick Perry each had eight points.
The Tigers improved to 2-1 in the WYL and 10-7 overall. Mt. Whitney dropped to 1-2 in league play and 10-6 overall.
