Stallions complete first basketball sweep
Benny Munoz/The Madera Tribune Madera South’s Andre Johnson drives to the hoop with Madera’s Kecian Primes defending. Johnson scored a game-high 19 pints in a 43-33 victory Friday.
For the first time in the Madera/Madera South basketball rivalry, both Stallion boys and girls teams defeated the Coyotes in County/Metro Athletic Conference play.
The Stallions rode the hotter shooting hand for a 43-33 victory over the Coyotes on Wednesday to complete the first-ever sweep (when the teams have played on the same night or on the next night) after the girls defeated the Coyotes on Tuesday.
“It’s been the most complete game we played in a while,” Stallions head coach Jody Sharp said. “I still think we had some spurts that weren’t clean, but it was better than it has been.”
The Stallions shot 30 percent (12-of-39) from the field. However, the Coyotes weren’t better. They shot 21 percent (9-of-42) from the field and were just 4-of-23 (17 percent) from 3-point range.
“It was one of those off-shooting nights,” Coyotes head coach David Lozano said. “We hate to end the season on that note.”
The Stallions also controlled the boards. They pulled down 42 rebounds with 17 on the offensive glass compared to 15 total rebounds for the Coyotes. Madera South had five players with six or more rebounds.
“We have been playing well as of late,” Sharp said. “We were battling with these teams. The guys were fighting like crazy, but we weren’t physical to get over the hump. That carried into the game. The desire to get into the playoffs and end on a positive note was something to look forward to. I was really happy with our defensive effort tonight. If you’re not making shots, you have to hope the other team is not making shots, either.”
“It was not the performance we wanted to see tonight,” Lozano said. “We ran out of time. We have to have more urgency at the beginning of the game.”
In what as essentially a playoff play-in game, the Stallions limited the Coyotes to just two points in the third quarter for the 10-point victory.
Madera South’s Andre Johnson led all scorers with 19 points, including five 3-pointers. Jessie Ford added 10 points with seven rebounds. Johnson, Jonbree Neal, Joel Galvan and Julian Galvan joined Ford with six or more rebounds.
Johnson opened the scoring with a 3-pointer, but Madera’s Christian Aguilar kissed glass for a 3-pointer to tie the game.
Ford made a free throw to give the Stallions the lead. More than three minutes went by before Ford made two pairs of free throws for an 8-3 lead.
Madera’s Kecian Primes stopped the run with a layup, but Jayshawn Thomas answered with one of his own.
Primes cut the Stallions’ lead to two with a 3-pointer that also kissed glass.
Jose Villafan answered with an up and under layup for a 12-8 lead heading into the second quarter.
Primes put back his own miss and Bryson Smith scored down low to tie the game with about six minutes left in the quarter.
Joel Galvan gave the Stallions the lead two minutes later with a free throw.
However, Zack Roque gave the Coyotes a 15-13 lead with a 3-pointer with about two minutes left in the half.
The Stallions closed the half with a Thomas free throw and a Johnson 3-pointer for a 17-15 lead. The Stallions extended the run to nine in the second half with another Johnson 3-pointer and two Thomas free throws.
Smith put back a miss to cut Madera South’s lead to 22-17.
The Stallions closed the quarter with six points from Johnson for a 28-17 lead. Johnson hit a 3-pointer and was fouled on another. He made all three free throws for an 11-2 run heading into the fourth quarter.
Galvan scored off a spin move for a 30-17 lead and a 13-2 run in the fourth quarter.
Madera tried to come back with an Eli Barrios 3-pointer and free throw to cut the deficit to nine. Ford had two opportunities on one possession and made them count. He made one-of-two free throws, got the offensive board on his miss and made a layup off a Galvan assist for a 33-21 lead. Primes cut the lead back to nine with another 3-pointer off glass. Barrios got the Coyotes to seven with a layup.
However, Madera South went on a 7-0 run to take control of the game. Ford scored down low for a bucket and was fouled. He missed the free throw, but Villafan came down with the rebound. Johnson hit a 3-pointer to end the possession. Thomas followed with a layup for a 40-26 lead with 2:13 left in the game.
Alek Trukki hit a 3-pointer with 1:38 left in the game, but Villafan countered with a layup for a 13-point lead.
Two Primes free throws cut the Stallions’ lead to 11 with a minute left.
The Stallions missed free throws, but came down with the offensive board. Johnson made a free throw with 29.9 seconds left for a 12-point lead to seal the game.
Primes closed the scoring with a layup for a 43-33 Madera South victory.
