By STEFAN MODRICH, Staff Writer
KINGSVILLE — Santa Rosa fought to hang around as long as it possibly could against Corpus Christi London, but the No. 18 Warriors ultimately were outmatched by a bigger Pirates squad, losing 86-69 in their regional quarterfinal game Monday at Kingsville King.
“It was a good season,” Santa Rosa coach Johnny Cipriano said. “Kids played hard. I know everybody expects us to go to the Sweet 16 every year now, and it’s tough. It’s partly my fault, too, because we’ve done it so many times that the expectations are extremely high. We’re working hard to try and meet them every year, but the ball’s not always going to bounce our way.”
CJ Olivarez had 19 points to lead Santa Rosa (27-8), and Christian Vela finished with 16.
The seventh-ranked Pirates (31-4) were led by freshman Preston Cazalas’ 22 points. He was one of four London players in double figures. RJ Moreno and Ty Leonard each added 15 points and Bryce Marshall had 15.
London presented matchup problems for Santa Rosa inside and out. Marshall and Joshua Chesney (eight points) kept the Warriors off the glass, and Preston Cazalas, Luke Cazalas and Moreno combined for seven 3-pointers in the contest.
“We knew (London was) a good team, we knew they were tall,” Cipriano said. “I’m really proud of the kids, they gave maximum effort, and everyone went in there and tried their best. … I don’t think we got outexecuted, I just think we got outrebounded.”
The Warriors briefly led 12-11 when Daniel Villarreal (eight points) knocked down an open 3 in the corner with 3:30 to go in the first quarter.
Santa Rosa trailed 21-19 at the end of the first quarter. Villarreal tied the game at 21 on a fastbreak layup to open the second quarter, but the spark he provided to the Warriors was extinguished by an ankle injury that sidelined him for most of the second half.
“He shot very well, and then unfortunately he sprained his ankle right before (the end) of the half,” Cipriano said. “He was hobbling and he reinjured it in the second half, so I had to pull him.”
London outscored Santa Rosa 23-14 in a second period that featured several momentum swings.
Among the several offensive highlights for Santa Rosa were a no-look feed from Vela to David Bazaldua (nine points) for a corner trey with 4:40 left in the second quarter to cut the Warriors’ deficit to two.
Roland Segundo made both free throws in a 1-and-1 foul shooting situation with one minute to go in the first half to trim the lead to 36-31. Moreno scored five points during the final 40 seconds of the second quarter to increase London’s lead to double digits.
Marshall capped the first half with an exclamation point, drawing a foul during the final seconds and making a bucket and ensuing free throw to give London a 44-33 edge at the half.
The Warriors made their last stand in the third quarter. London withstood several Santa Rosa counterpunches, but never relinquished their grip on the lead, even as the scrappy Warriors fought to keep it a one-possession game.
Chesney cleaned up a miss by Moreno and built up a 55-50 edge for London with two minutes remaining, prompting a Santa Rosa timeout. London led 60-52 at the end of the third quarter, and from there the Pirates began to pull away.
London will play the winner of Comfort and Universal City Randolph, which are scheduled to play at 6 p.m. today in Seguin.