Despite 17 points from Mark Rania, 15 from Andres Gomez and 11
by Alex Valles, the Anzar boys basketball team was unable to pull
past Pacific Collegiate on Friday in Santa Cruz, where the host
Pumas staved off the Hawks late, 57-52.
SANTA CRUZ
Despite 17 points from Mark Rania, 15 from Andres Gomez and 11 by Alex Valles, the Anzar boys basketball team was unable to pull past Pacific Collegiate on Friday in Santa Cruz, where the host Pumas staved off the Hawks late, 57-52.
Anzar trailed 44-29 heading into the fourth quarter, but outscored Pacific Collegiate 23-13 in the final stanza.
The Hawks are now 1-1 in the Coastal Athletic League, 3-13 overall.
“Even though we lost, it was encouraging,” Anzar head coach Ed Cecena said. “We gave ourselves a chance to win the game, but just fell a little short.”
The Hawks and Pumas battled back-and-forth in the first half, with Pacific Collegiate garnering a 23-21 lead at halftime. But the Santa Cruz school outscored Anzar 21-8 in the third quarter, providing a 15-point cushion entering the final period.
“It was a big team,” Cecena said.
“But we’re starting to play better. Even though we lost, our level of play has really improved. We’re getting contributions from different players and our skills are improving.”
Niko Hebert chimed in with five points, while Izzy Parra and Devon Parish each added a basket.
Anzar will host Georgiana Bruce Kirby on Thursday. Tip-off is 7 p.m.
TEAM 1 2 3 4 F
ANZ 15 6 8 23 52
PCS 13 10 21 13 57
Anzar (52): A. Valles 2 2 1-1 11, I. Parra 1 0 0-0 2, D. Parish 1 0 0-0 2, N. Hebert 2 0 1-4 5, M. Rania 3 3 2-6 17, A. Gomez 5 0 5-8 15.
