SANTA ROSA — The Lyford Bulldogs tried to hang around against 32-3A rival Santa Rosa, but it didn’t last long.
Leading by only five after a quarter, the Warriors shook off a slow start and opened the second quarter on a 15-0 run, and never looked back as they cruised by the Bulldogs 77-41 Tuesday night in Santa Rosa.
Like Lyford, Santa Rosa came out sluggish to start the game, but its defense helped change the tempo and held Lyford without a field goal in the second quarter.
“I think we came out a little lackadaisical, but I just told my team to pick it up and start doing things right,” said Warriors’ head coach Johnny Cipriano. “We were able to speed the game up, cause turnovers and get some layups — that always helps you get some rhythm.”
The change in tempo helped junior guard Leo Lara get into the game to the tune of 17 second-quarter points, including a trio of three-point shots. He finished the game with 20 points to lead all scorers.
The Warriors outscored the Bulldogs 26-4 in the second quarter and held Lyford without a field goal for the entire quarter.
“We wanted to slow the game down, like we always do when we play Santa Rosa,” said Lyford coach Pedro Torres. “If Santa Rosa gets going, they get going and sure enough, they got going. When that happens our guys mentally lose sight and the game was out of their hands.
“Santa Rosa is a great team, but our guys fought. Just to come out here and compete the whole game… I was proud of them.”
The Bulldogs ended the first quarter with a three-point shot from Spanky Cortez to make the score 17-12, but they did not record another field goal until the 4:01 mark of the third quarter on an Andre Ibarra layup.
By that point, the Warriors had opened up the second half on a 9-0 burst and led by 33.
After a 10-0 run to start the fourth, the Warriors took a 51-point lead, which was their largest of the night.
Santa Rosa’s Andrew Ramirez followed Lara with 12 points, while AB Losoya added 11.
Lyford’s Cortez led the Bulldogs with 14.