By MARK MOLINA | STAFF WRITER
After watching the Hanna Golden Eagles erase an eight-point third-quarter deficit and take a lead for the first time since the first, the Rivera Raiders needed an answer heading into the final eight minutes of a tie game.
They found one in a big way.
Fueled by 10 points from Oscar Lozoya in the furth and a strong defensive stand, the Raiders ran past the Eagles for a 72-66 District 32-6A win final Tuesday night at Hanna High School.
Lozoya finished the night with a team-high 24 points, including a solo 7-0 run that put Rivera up 12 with 2:19 to go.
“We had lightened up in the third quarter and that allowed them to come back, so we just kept our composure because we knew they had their little run,” Lozoya said. “So we knew it was time for our little run and I guess i took over and we handled it the right way. I’ve been doing this for three years, so obviously in the fourth quarter of a big-time game, I knew I had to trust my instincts, trust my teammates and we got the shots that we wanted.”
After allowing a 12-5 run to end the third quarter, the Raiders (4-2 in district) opened the fourth outscoring Hanna (1-5 in district) 19-7 in the first six minutes and held them to just one field goal in that span.
“Hanna came back, so we ust tightened up on defense,” Rivera head coach Saul Villarreal said. “They started distributing the ball around, looking for Oscar (Lozoya) and the inside man. We found the inside and kicked it back out to Oscar…he just took control after that.”
Hanna cut the lead to five late, but there was only 14 seconds remaining in the game.
Rudy Guerrero finished with 14 for the Raiders and Nico Blanco pitched in 13.
For Hanna, Noah Armstrong led the way with 24.
Lozoya got hot early in the game, scoring the Raiders’ first eight points to put them up 8-2 minutes into the game.
The Eagles mounted an 11-4 run, capped off by a Victor Campos trey to give the Eagles a 13-12 lead. Rivera answered with six unanswered in the final two minutes of the quarter.
Rivera extended the lead to 11, its biggest of the game, on a Blanco score, but Armstrong converted on a three-point play soon after to stop the bleeding and make it 29-21.
Rivera went into the half up 35-29.
The Eagles would slowly chip away at the Raiders lead throughout the third, but an Austin Jimenez layup gave the Eagles a 50-47 lead, their first lead since the first quarter.
Blanco hit a 3 to tie the game with three seconds left in the third.
The Raiders mounted their run to open the fourth and smothered the Eagles defensively, allowing nothing from the field anf holding them to just five free throws in the first two minutes.
The Eagles didn’t score from the floor until the 3:57 mark of the fourth when Campos found the bottom of the net, ending a drought which spanned more than five minutes.