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Matthew Olvera of Godinez drives down the court as Heber Quero of Segerstrom defends Friday night. (Photos courtesy Mark Bausman, For OC Sports Zone).
Before Friday night’s Golden West League boys basketball game, Godinez High School Coach Robert Morgan said that “the Golden West League is super competitive and on any given night anybody can beat anybody.”
Morgan’s words were spot on as Godinez snapped Segerstrom’s five-game winning streak and defeated the Jaguars 51-48 before a near capacity crowd at Godinez High.
Segerstrom (9-11, 4-1) was in first place and undefeated in league coming into the game.
MaGen Young and Jaiden Torres each scored 11 points to lead the Grizzlies (9-14, 3-2) to a thrilling victory.
“It’s an incredible win,” said Young, a 6-6 junior. “We came in determined and ready to play and our defense was the key throughout the game.”
Torres agreed.
“We took care of the ball and we build momentum moving forward with this win,” Torres said.
To see the slide show, click on the first photo:
Matthew Olvera’s basket at the 5:29 mark of the third quarter gave Godinez a 30-16 lead and it appears the Grizzlies were on their way to an easy win.
However, the Jaguars, sparked by Christopher Negrete, stormed back and went on a 14-2 run to end the quarter. Negrete’s 3-point play cut the Grizzlies’ lead to 32-30 after three periods.
Chris Arteaga’s bucket gave Segerstrom (9-11, 4-1) a 37-36 lead with 5:20 to play. Moments later after the score was tied at 39, Godinez went on a 12-2 run. Young registered back-to back 3-point plays and Adrian Gonzalez added four free throws as the Grizzlies built a 51-41 lead with 47 seconds remaining.
But the Jaguars, behind Jalen Cervantes’ 3-pointer and subsequent basket, cut the lead to 51-48 with 11 seconds left but Segerstrom was unable to tack on any more as Godinez ran out the clock.
“We kept our composure, made our free throws and didn’t turn the ball over,” said Godinez junior forward Lucas Andaluz, who scored nine points. “The crowd was amazing and it’s great to win in front of all of our classmates and our families.”
Negrete led all scorers with 17 points. Gonzales also scored 10 points for the Grizzlies.
“Our team has a saying we use and it’s, ‘we play for each other,’” said Morgan. “We were ready to win a game like this and I love the way our guys played. This is really good for our league.”
Segerstrom coach Eddie Andrade said his team did not execute.
“We played a really bad first-half and 14 points was the lowest we scored all season,” said Andrade. “We worked hard but we had lapses and they took advantage of that.”
The Grizzlies hit five 3-pointers in the first-half and led at halftime 25-14.
Girls game
In the opener, Godinez High girls basketball team defeated Segerstrom 35-33. Grizzlies guard Joanna Alcocer layup with .2 seconds remaining gave Godinez the victory.
‘It’s feels amazing to score a basket like that and win the game,” said Alcocer.
—Tom Connolly, For OC Sports Zone
