Delgado scores 32 to lead Warden past Granger in first round of 1A District 5 playoffs

WARDEN — Warden senior JR Delgado hung back on the left wing waiting for the moment, a little like Richard Sherman sneaking a peek into the offensive backfield. When Granger point guard Andre Castro sent the pass to his side of the zone defense, the 6-foot-3 small forward launched into action.

Delgado, who scored 21 of his game-high 32 points in the first half, stepped in front of the errant pass, streaked uncontested to the basket and jammed with authority, bringing Cougar fans to their feet, punctuating a 23-9 run to end the third quarter of Friday night’s South Central Athletic Conference 1A District 5 playoff game.

Delgado was the jam and Granger (13-8) was toast from that point on as Warden (16-5) rolled to a 73-46 first-round victory. It was a no-brainer when asked which was more fun: four first-half 3-pointers or the jam?

“The jam. I really got up on that one,” said Delgado, who had five of the Cougars 12 3-point goals. “I felt good tonight. When I’m feelin’ it, I work for the open shots. But I make sure my guys are getting theres too. I thought our defense was a little shaky in the first half, but we stepped it up in the second half and shut them down.”

The Cougars turned a eight-point halftime lead into 47-28 with a 17-4 run to open the second half, including three consecutive treys. Adam Richins had a couple during that stretch, Delgado added his fifth from beyond the arc and Warden opened up a 19-point lead. Delgado, who went into the night averaging 24.4 points per game, added the jam to the mix with 35 seconds remaining in the third period and the Cougars’ slammed the door.

“When JR is in the zone, he’s really hard to defend no matter what. But he was able to distribute the ball well when they started to concentrate on him,” Cougar coach Wes Richins said. “We started working it down low and then kicked it back out. When our little sophomore Martin Arriaga hit those two 3’s (in the fourth quarter), those were daggers.”

The Spartans out-rebounded the Cougars 40-35, including 10 on the offensive glass in the second half. But the Cougars controlled the first-round playoff game from start-to-finish with a shooting night that included 26 field goals, 12 from downtown, and a perfect 9-of-9 from the free-throw line.

“We have to work on our rebounding for sure, but we’re playing exactly how we want to be playing at this point in the season,” said Adam Richins, who finished with 17 points. “We’re a team that lives and dies by the 3-ball. But moving forward, we have to work running the offense. You can’t always hit the three, but we’re playing with a lot of confidence.”

Delgado had 33 points and Richins had 21 in the Cougars' 99-77 loss to top-ranked Zillah on Saturday. The Cougars will play Connell on Saturday in a winner-to-state game,

Score by quarters Granger 13 9 12 12 - 46 Warden 14 16 23 20 - 73

Box score

Granger — Daniel Nava 7, Ulyses Diaz 2, Andre Castro 5, Trevor Smith 10, Jake Slade 20, Jose Alvarez 2. Totals - Field goals: 18. 3-point goals: 4. Free throws: 4-8. Score: 46 Warden — Fernando Barriga 2, Zach Richins 2, Jack Hardman 4, Martin Arriaga 6, Tanner Skone 10, Adam Richins 17, J.R. Delgado 32. Totals - Field goals: 26. 3-point goals: 12. Free throws: 9-9. Score: 73.