Huskies split weekend road games
Bob Barrett/Courtesy photo - Othello's Hilarlo Murillo splits the two Red Devil defenders to get the shot away in the game against East Valley Dec. 12.
QUINCY — Othello Basketball held off Quincy Friday, but dropped both games at Grandview Saturday.
The boys dug themselves a deep hole in first quarter action against the Jacks, down 15-4. But the team turned the table on Quincy in the second quarter to close within three, 24-21 at the half.
Othello maintaining its sizzle in the third quarter, posted 18 points to the Jacks 11 to go up top 39-35 heading into the fourth. The teams traded baskets over the final 12 minutes and it was the Huskies coming away with a 60-58 win.
Jonathan Garza came up aces for Othello with five buckets from beyond the arc, 5 rebounds, 2 assist and 4 steals and finished with 27 points. Kyler Villarreal added 18 points, 10 boards, 3 assist and 3 steals.
“We started off cold in the first quarter struggling to get jump shots to fall. I told my boys to keep playing hard defense and continue shooting with confidence and our shot will fall as they did,” coach Roman Pruneda said. “We were able to keep our pace and score more efficiently each quarter even as the game got chippy. Quincy played tough as they always do at home, but we were able to keep our lead that we took in the second to take home the win. We got great shooting from Jonathan Garza and an all around game from Kyler Villarreal with drives and rebounding that kept us afloat.”
Grandview 72
Othello 57
Things didn’t go according to plan for the Huskies in Grandview Saturday as the Greyhounds raced past Othello 72-57.
The Huskies did get off to a good start, however, leading 17-15 at the end of the first quarter, and up 32-27 at intermission. But Grandview owned the second half and pulled out the come-from-behind win.
Three players hit for double figures for the Huskies. Jonathan Garza finished with 18 points, 7 rebounds 4 assists and 2 steals. Kyler Villarreal dumped in 17 points, pulled down 9 rebounds, blocked 7 shots and dished out 3 assists. Trevor Hilmes added 10 points, 3 rebounds and 2 assists.
“Heading into this game our focus was to come out and start with intensity and having a better start than the night before, and we did so controlling the pace the first half. Once again Kyler Villarreal’s play on both sides of the floor and consistent shooting from J. Garza kept us going,” Pruneda said. “The script flipped in the second half as we seemed to lose control of the pace and seemed to be gassed out. But I am proud of my boys for their efforts over the weekend.”
Girls
Macy Hampton shredded the cords for 21 points, Alexis Coronado hit for 15 and the Huskies chased the Jackrabbits off the hardwood 57-33 in Quincy.
“It was a good win for our girls. They came out and were ready to play and everyone contributed,” coach Josh Tovar said. “They seemed much more confident and were more willing to shoot the ball than the game before . We were only played seven girls because we’re still short handed due to one on vacation, one sick, and one out for the season with a tore ACL and meniscus.”
Lane Simpson, Cassandra Gonzalez and Rilee Heist played a good supporting cast knocking down six points each.
Grandview 75
Othello 43
The Huskies were unable to keep pace with the Greyhounds Saturday and dropped the league contest by 32 points. Othello got another gallant effort out of Macy Hampton who led the Huskies with 22 points. But no other player scored in double figures and Othello dropped its third conference game on the young season.
“Our girls came out ready and determined to play hard. We were hitting several of our shots and did not seemed to be bothered by their press — were taking care of the ball and leading by three at the half,” coach Tovar said. “But we came out a little flat to start the second half and just couldn’t score as efficiently as we did in the first half.”
Tovar said the team struggled with the Grandview press in the second half and added the team ran out of steam with only seven active players on the roster.
“It was a lot to ask of some girls but we don’t have anyone ready to move up to varsity that could help us out this year,” Tovar said. “We hope to have our eighth girl back this week.”
The splits for the boys and girls drop both teams to 2-3 in CWAC Conference play and 2-3 overall. The Huskies were back on the court Tuesday for a home game against Toppenish, but the results were not available by press time.
The Huskies host Connell in nonleague action Thursday evening. The girl’s tipoff at 5:55. The boys get started at 7:15.