By CLAIRE CRUZ, Staff Writer
SANTA MARIA — The Santa Rosa Warriors returned from Christmas break strong to pull off a 59-53 win over Santa Maria in a battle of ranked teams.
Santa Rosa is ranked No. 18 in Class 3A and the Cougars are No. 19 in Class 2A by the Texas Association of Basketball Coaches. Both squads are eyeing lengthy playoff runs, which has become a tradition in both programs, and the competitive, well-played game Wednesday was a good tuneup.
First-year Warriors coach Adrian Trevino was pleased with the energy and chemistry his team displayed against another top-tier opponent on Santa Rosa’s challenging non-district schedule.
“There’s a gray area when you come together with a new coach, new team. There’s some things that have to happen, some eggs that have to be broken, and we’re finally getting there,” Trevino said. “The chemistry’s finally clicking. We’re all on the same page, and that’s the difference. When these guys are clicking and all doing their thing, it’s really beautiful to watch. I came into a program where these guys understand basketball, their basketball IQ is really high, and they’ve been well-prepared and I’m very blessed with that.”
The first half was a tightly contested affair in which the teams swapped scoring runs. Santa Maria led 18-14 after the first quarter thanks to the efforts of Berny Castellanos and Christopher Ibarra. The pair held down the paint with solid rebounding, and Castellanos recorded two blocks to minimize Santa Rosa’s interior offense.
The Warriors adjusted their defense to a zone setup during the second quarter, and the change and extra effort held the Cougars to eight points in the frame. David Bazaldua (20 points) and CJ Olivarez (14 points) were instrumental in the comeback quarter, combining to score 14 of Santa Rosa’s 15 points as it took a 29-26 lead into halftime. Bazaldua used his size to overpower the Cougars in the paint and showed off his range by hitting a 3-pointer.
“We switched out of man to a zone, and it gave us a chance to save our legs a little bit,” Trevino said. “(Santa Maria was) knocking down some shots early from the outside, and we just sealed it up and took some things away from them, and it slowed the game down on their side and allowed us to get those long rebounds. We’ve made it a point to really be better on the boards, and that’s given us a different energy.”
Santa Maria swung the ball around to try and create looks under the basket in the third, but Santa Rosa’s zone defense held tight. The Cougars were shorthanded in the game, and the missing height kept them from being able to consistently go toe-to-toe with Santa Rosa’s size.
Bazaldua and Adrian Zamora (11 points) controlled the boards, and the smooth shooting and quick-handed defense of Olivarez and Rey Davila helped the Warriors open a 49-35 lead after the third. Santa Rosa pushed the ball up the court quickly and fed its bigs under the basket for easy looks to cushion the advantage.
Santa Maria coach Albert Briones called a timeout with his Cougars trailing by 11, and they returned to the court with new energy. Castellanos sparked a six-point scoring run to cut into the deficit, but two clutch 3-pointers from Olivarez and another from Davila put the Warriors comfortably back in control.
Berny Castellanos (19 points), Ibarra (16 points) and Erick Castellanos (eight points) led a relentless Santa Maria effort during the final quarter. Erick Castellanos drove hard to the basket and made good passes to find Berny Castellanos open for mid-range shots. Berny Castellanos and Ibarra started to challenge Santa Rosa in the paint again, and as their rebounding improved, the Cougars to cut the deficit to 54-50.
But a 3-pointer from Christian Vela shifted momentum back to the Warriors, and their defense tightened up during the final three minutes. They turned up the pressure, which resulted in steals and turnovers as Santa Maria struggled to control the ball and set up its offense. A 4-for-11 performance at the free-throw line also kept the Cougars from putting together a fourth-quarter comeback.
“We had our chances, but we picked the worst time to shoot poorly. A bunch of missed free throws and we didn’t hit the 3-ball, that’s what hurt us,” Briones said. “We made a lot of mistakes, and when we made mistakes, they capitalized, and that says a lot about the type of team that they are. I’m glad we got to play a team like that. They’re tough, and it was awesome. We competed with them, and I told my guys I was happy that we got back into the game. Our boys never quit.”