Page 13 - Mid Valley Times 12-26-19 E-edition

Thursday, December 26, 2019
Pirates fall to top division contender Kingsburg
Loss to Vikings only Reedley's second defeat
By Jon Earnest
Mid Valley Times
In a battle of seeding for the Division 4 boys basketball postseason, the Kingsburg High Vi- kings last week grabbed the upper hand on the Reedley High Pirates.
The Vikings (10-1) took command of a hard- fought struggle with an 8-0 run to open the third quarter, eventually out- scoring the visitors 25-11 in the period to post a re- sounding 85-62 victory at KHS gym on Dec. 20. The Pirates (11-2) saw their eight-game win streak snapped; a run that in- cluded championship showings in the Sierra Pacific Tip-Off Classic and Liberty-Madera Ran- chos tournament.
Entering last week’s showdown, the Vikings and Pirates were ranked one and two in Division 4. But Reedley never led on this night, and trailed by as many as 17 points in the third after Kings- burg went on 7-0 and 11-3 scoring runs.
Augie Villarreal (who scored a game-high 26 points) and Leon Hernan-
Danny Jimenez / Photo Contributed
Reedley High’s Marcus Heinrichs lunged to flip up a shot in the lane during the Pirates’ 85-62 non-league loss at Kingsburg High obj Dec. 20.
Apaches split island games, sweep Hawaii but fall to California MVT Staff Report
The Sanger High var- sity boys’ basketball team has returned to the main- land after going 2-2 in the Lahainaluna Classic Tour- nament in Maui, Hawaii.
After starting the tour- nament with two consec- utive losses, one a close 38-34 loss to Division 1 Edison High of Hunting- ton Beach on Dec. 18 and the other a lopsided 72-40 defeat to Mission Viejo (Div. 2) on Dec. 19, Sanger closed out their Hawaiian tournament with victories over two teams from the islands.
On Dec. 20, Sanger got back on track with a 79-37 drubbing of host Lahain- aluna High, outscoring the Lunas in every quar- ter and jumping out to a 28-3 lead after the first quarter.
The Apaches received double-digit performanc-
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Immanuel girls
Lady Emps go 2-2 in annual Dinuba-Orosi Holiday Classic
dez sandwiched 3-point baskets around a Israel Vildosola layup to fuel an 8-0 RHS run that cut the deficit to 60-51 after three quarters.
Kingsburg took com- mand in the opening stag-
es of the fourth quarter. Nate Towsley (17 points) drained a three from the left wing, Jose Martinez (10 points) sank a pair of free throws and Colby Charles (team-high 21 points) buried a trey to
make it 68-51 with five minutes, 35 seconds re- maining. Reedley never was closer than 14 points the rest of the way.
The Pirates struggled to hit shots while execut- ing their half-court of-
fense, and when they got into transition were short- circuited by missed shots and errant passes. Reed- ley also was cold at the free throw line, making
See PIRATES on page B2
nish third in pool
play tournament
Dinuba responds to early losses with two straight victories
MVT Staff Report
The Immanuel High Eagles won three straight games to cap- tured third place in the pool play division of the Dinuba-Orosi Holiday Classic last week at Im- manuel High gym.
The Eagles (4-10, 0-2 Central Sequoia League) bounced back from a 48- 26 setback to eventual champion Buhach Colo- ny on Dec. 18 with wins
over Granite Hills (76- 41 on Dec. 19), Tulare Western (37-23 on Dec. 20) and Kennedy-Dela- no (32-29 in overtime on Dec. 21).
Coach Joe Vasquez said his IHS team played tough defense throughout the tourna- ment, allowing just 31 points per game in the three wins. Junior for- ward Sammie Greene scored 10 points against Kennedy and made the all-tournament team while sophomore guard Alegria Pena scored eight points — includ- ing two three-pointers — and won the three-point shooting contest.
Buhach Colony de- feated Coalinga in the finals by a 56-32 score.
The Eagles dropped a tough 46-43 decision at home against Exeter on Dec. 17 to fall to 0-2 in CSL play. The team resumes league action on Friday, Jan 3, in a 7:30 p.m. varsity tipoff at home against Dinuba.
First, Immanuel trav- els to Madera Ranchos for a 6:30 p.m. game against Liberty High on Monday, Dec. 30.
MVT Staff Report
The Dinuba High girls basketball team closed out the Dinuba/Orosi Hol- iday Classic with a 50-45 win over Central Sequoia League rival Kingsburg on Saturday. Dec. 21.
The Lady Emperors, who dropped their first two games of the tour- nament, used a strong second quarter before holding off a fourth quar- ter charge by the Lady Vikings to improve to 7-5 overall.
Dinuba outscored Kingsburg 18 to 9 in the second quarter to erase an 8-7 deficit. The 26-16 halftime lead grew to 42-39 before the Lady Vi- kings outscored DHS 16 to 8 in the fourth.
Yasmine Villareal-Har- ris led three Lady Emper- ors in double figures with 11. Ashley Flores and Eb- ony Rodriguez each had 10 apiece.
On Friday against an- other CSL member, Ex- eter, Dinuba jumped out to a 31-18 lead and never looked back for a 51-35 win.
Guard Kailey Lopez had 13 points to pace DHS. Rodriguez and Alys-
sa Hernandez each scored 10 points.
In a 67-37 loss to Hoover on Dec. 19, Lo- pez led the team with 10 points.
In the tournament opener against Lemoore, the Lady Tigers pulled away from a 24-22 half- time lead with a strong second half in a 53-37 win over the Lady Emps.
Villareal-Harris fin- ished the game with 10 ponts to lead DHS.
Dinuba will be on the road tonight against Taft in a non-league game.
Porterville captures tournament
Led by tournament Most Valuable Player, Ja- zlynne Medrano, the Por- terville Lady Panthers captured the Dinuba/Oro- si Holiday Classic after a 45-35 win over Washing- ton Union Saturday night.
Medrano had a game- high 16 points as Porter- ville improved to 12-1 overall.
In the third place game, Strathmore downed Madera, 43-34 behind all-tournament
SeeLADYEMPSonpage B12
Photo Contributed
Immanuel High’s Alegria Pena won the three-point contest of the Dinuba-Orosi Holi- day Classic’s pool play division.
George M. Villagrana / Mid Valley Times
Dinuba High's Roxie Montalvo shoots a 3-pointer during Dinuba’s game against Hoover in the Dinuba-Orosi Holi- day Classic. Dinuba dropped that game 67-37 before re- boundingwithapairofwinsoverExeterandKingsburg.