KEVIN NARRO | Staff Writer
SANTA MARIA — After their loss to San Isidro earlier in the season, the San Perlita Trojans have been a team on a mission. Entering Friday’s game against Santa Maria, the Trojans were in control of their own destiny: win, and they would win the district outright.
The Trojans never trailed Friday night, displaying mental toughness, and used a late fourth-quarter run and timely free throws to help seal a 69-61 win over the Cougars in their regular-season finale.
The win gives the Trojans a second straight district title.
“That loss to San Isidro, honestly, is the best thing that happened to us,” Trojans coach Nataniel Garza said. “It brought us together as a unit, and we matured from it. We overcame so much adversity, and this district title means so much to us because of what we went through.”
Four Trojans scored in double figures. On a night when Tige Johnson wasn’t at his peak, his teammates picked him up. Johnson and Julian Herrera each scored 16 points. EJ Nieto, who hit the game’s opening 3, finished with 10 points. Johnson’s eight fourth-quarter points helped seal the Trojans’ win.
“Tige didn’t have his best game tonight, and he knows that,” Garza said. “But this is a tight group and everyone else stepped up, and that shows how deep we are. Late when Santa Maria went on a run, I didn’t call a timeout. I believed in the kids, and they were resilient tonight and it showed, and all the credit goes to the kids.”
San Perlita got off to a 10-2 run in the opening quarter and held a 39-29 lead at the half. The Cougars did not go away quietly, as a 12-5 to start the second half cut the lead to 44-42.
For each shot the Cougars scored, the depth of the Trojans answered. Santa Maria managed to cut the lead to two on multiple occasions late in the fourth quarter, but that was as close as they got. Enrique Cantu led the Cougars’ offense with 16 points in the loss.
“This is something we all wanted,” said sophomore James Herrera, who dashed up and down the court, breaking the press and finishing with 10 points. “We are still a young team, but we all understand the expectations.”
Senior Noah Olivarez finished with five points, but is one of the few seniors on the squad. Winning a second straight district title is just as sweet.
“We came in a little nervous, but as the game went on we were able to find ourselves,” Olivarez said. “There was extra emotions tonight for sure, but this just feels great to win another district title, and especially with this team. I love these guys.”