Despite holding host Pacific Collegiate to single-digit point
totals through the first three quarters, the Anzar boys’ basketball
team was unable to match the output for a fourth stanza, as the
Pumas outscored the Hawks 23-12 in the final period and nailed the
game-winning 3-pointer in the final seconds to swipe a 42-41
victory on Wednesday night in Santa Cruz.
SANTA CRUZ
Despite holding host Pacific Collegiate to single-digit point totals through the first three quarters, the Anzar boys’ basketball team was unable to match the output for a fourth stanza, as the Pumas outscored the Hawks 23-12 in the final period and nailed the game-winning 3-pointer in the final seconds to swipe a 42-41 victory on Wednesday night in Santa Cruz.
The win keeps Pacific Collegiate undefeated in the Coastal Athletic League at 8-0, and drops Anzar to 5-3 in league, 6-9 overall.
Nick Salgado scored a team-high 15 points for Anzar, which delivered perhaps its best first half of basketball this season on Wednesday when it opened a 21-10 lead on Pacific Collegiate at the break.
“We shot the ball well and we defended well,” Anzar head coach Ed Cecena said.
But playing with a limited roster, like it has all season, the second half saw the Hawks get into foul trouble. Jesse Ramirez, who scored 12 points for Anzar, would foul out, while the Pumas, trailing by a 29-19 margin entering the fourth quarter, began to mount their comeback.
“They started hitting a lot of 3-pointers and we couldn’t defend as hard as we wanted to,” Cecena said.
The Hawks were up by two points when Pacific Collegiate connected on the game-winning 3-pointer. Puma Jason Gilbert led all scorers with 19 points, while teammate Jake Hedrick added 11 points.
Andres Gomez, meanwhile, had 10 points for the Hawks, while both Christian Monroy and Alex Samuels each added two points.
Anzar is off for the remainder of the week.
TEAM 1 2 3 4 F
ANZR 14 7 8 12 41
PACS 4 6 9 23 42
Anzar (41): C. Monroy 1 0 0-2 2, A. Samuels 1 0 0-0 2, J. Ramirez 4 0 4-4 12, N. Salgado 6 0 3-4 15, A. Gomez 5 0 0-2 10.
AHS Girls Basketball
The Anzar girls’ basketball team dropped a Coastal Athletic League game on Wednesday night to Pacific Collegiate, falling by a 32-22 margin in Santa Cruz.
The Hawks are now 3-4 in the CAL, 5-14 overall.
Anzar is off until Friday when it will return to San Juan Bautista to host Marina at 5:30 p.m.
