Othello boys can't overcome cold starts against Wapato, EV
Ted Escobar/The Sun Tribune Othello’s Kyler Villarreal shoots a lay-up against Wapato while Trenton Cutforth (42) moves into rebound position, with Trevor Hilmes (32) in the background.
Ted Escobar/The Sun Tribune - Just before scoring two points with a lay-in, Trenton Cutforth of Othello wrestlers the ball away from a Wapato defender.
OTHELLO — Cold shooting in the first quarter both nights was too much to overcome last weekend, and the Othello boys basketball team lost to Wapato, 59-44, and East Valley, 71-62, in CWAC action.
“The two games were mirror images of themselves,” coach George Juarez said. “In both games, we were unable to score very many points in the first quarter due to not shooting very well. Against Wapato, we played fairly well in the remaining three quarters.”
The losses left Othello with a 1-11 mark at the bottom of the conference. The Huskies will play at Grandview on Thursday and at home Friday against Quincy.
The Quincy contest could be a battle. The Jacks start the week with a 1-11 CWAC record. The contest will likely decide who finishes in the cellar. Othello won the first meeting at Quincy.
The Wapato contest started with both teams running and gunning. The difference was that Wapato connected and Othello did not for an 18-2 first-quarter outcome. Othello outscored Wapato the rest of the way, 42-41.
Kyler Villarreal scored eight points to lead the Huskies to a 19-point second period. He finished as the team’s leading scorer wit 10 points. He was backed by the eight points of Trenton Cutforth and seven of Elias Valdez.
The rest of Othello’s scoring was Diego Buenrostro 6, Michael Gutierrez 6, Trevor Hilmes 4, Jonathan Garza 2 and Joseph Lopez 1.
The Huskies encountered a similar fate at East Valley. They were outgunned, 14-4, in the first quarter. They lost the second period, 25-14.
Othello warmed up at halftime. It scored 22 points in each of the third and fourth quarters to win the second half, 44-33.
“In the EV game, we were behind as many as 30 points and we fought back to within nine,” Juarez said.
Cutforth was the team leader this time with 15 points. Villarreal added nine, and Jose Gomez scored eight.
The rest of the scoring was Lopez, 7, Jonathan Garza 6, , Hilmes 6, Adrian Garza 5, Gutierrez 3, Valdez 2 and Buenrostro 1.