Stallions finish undefeated
Wendy Alexander/The Madera Tribune Madera South’s Hakeem Primes drives the lane for a layup during a victory over Sierra.
The Madera South Stallions boys basketball team completed an undefeated run through the Madera South Classic with a 72-44 victory over the Sierra-Tollhouse Chieftains.
“After going to where we played against Div. I and Div. II teams and lost, but we were in every one of those games, to be able to get on a winning streak is successful,” head coach Jody Sharp said. “And, to do well in your own tournament is great. I’m very proud of our kids being able to play two games in one day. By platooning like we did, it allowed us to keep kids fresh. It’s been helping the morale.”
The Stallions have been using a five-in, five-out strategy in using players and Sharp needed to use that because his team played the four games of the tournament in two days for a second place finish.
Elijah Ford and Ralph White led the team with 14 points each last Friday. Ford added nine rebounds with seven offensive boards while White led the team with 10 rebounds with six offensive rebounds and was named to the All-Tournament team. Hakeem Primes was also named to the All-Tournament team.
Twelve Stallions scored against Sierra. David Thomas and Jaylan Thomas each scored seven points and Junior Segura kick started the second group with seven points and led the team with seven steals.
“I was real proud of our second group,” Sharp said. “I wasn’t happy with our first group, at all. Not only did they do it one time, but they did it again in the second half.”
The Stallions forced 34 turnovers, including 19 in the second and third quarters where Madera South outscored Sierra 39-17. Madera South also recorded 22 steals among the turnovers. Sierra used three 3-pointers to jump out to a 13-2 lead from the opening tip.
“I was worried because we screwed around during warm ups and we weren’t ready to play,” Sharp said. “I don’t take anything for granted. When you play against teams and allow them to stay around and they get confident in what they are doing, you can get beat. I’ve had team stay around because of our mental approach to the game and we got beat.”
The second group came in to calm things down. Jaylan Thomas stopped Sierra’s run with a bucket off a Segura assist. Sierra made a pair of free throws and hit a jumper to open its lead to 13.
The Stallions then went on a 13-0 run. Thomas started the run with a driving bucket. Segura stole the ensuing inbounds and made a layup. White put back a Segura miss for a bucket. Thomas drove to the lane for two and Ford scored off a pass from Victor Daza.
Segura completed the run with a 3-pointer to tie the game at 14. Sierra came back with its fourth of six first half 3-pointers for a 20-17 lead.
Ford closed the first quarter with a bucket to cut the lead to one. Ford scored on an layup to open the second quarter scoring.
Another Sierra 3-pointer gave the Chieftains a 23-21 lead. A Ford free throw and a Amire Green short jumper gave the Stallions a lead. Sierra put back a miss for their final lead of the game, 25-24.
Ford started a 19-3 run with a free throw with 5:40 left in the quarter. David Thomas hit a baseline 3-pointer and Andre Johnson made another 3-pointer.
After a Sierra 3-pointer, White tipped in his own miss. White followed with another tip of his own miss. Jaylan Thomas picked up a steal and found White for a layup. Segura pulled down a rebound and found Thomas for a layup.
Kingsley Thomas added a free throw with 1:36 left in the half. Neither team scored until Ford put back a Daza miss at the end of the first half for a 42-28 lead.
Hakeem Primes kept the run going in the third quarter with a steal and layup for a 16-point lead. After Sierra hit a jumper, Johnson drained a 3-pointer. Primes followed with a layup and a 19-point lead.
After a Sierra free throw, White scored twice off assists by Ford and Segura. Segura then found Ford for a layup after steal for an 11-1 run.
Daza answered a Sierra 3-pointer with one of his own. Sierra closed out the third quarter scoring with a 3-pointer for a 58-37 Madera South lead.
Green opened the fourth quarter scoring by putting back his own miss. After a Sierra free throw, the Stallions went on an 8-0 run. Ford scored on a layup, David Thomas put back a missed layup, made a free throw and made a layup and Kingsley Thomas made a free throw for a 68-38 lead.
Sierra scored the next four points before White scored on a layup after going coast-to-coast on a rebound. Jonathan Garcia closed out the Madera South scoring with a layup off a Segura steal. Sierra made a pair of free throws for a 72-44 Madera South victory.
