Bullard too much for Stallions on Senior Night
Wendy Alexander/The Madera Tribune
Madera South senior Isaiah Tyler gets up a shot during Thursday’s loss to Bullard on Senior Night.
The Bullard-Fresno Knights worked hard early to spoil the Madera South boys basketball team’s Senior Night en route to an 82-47 victory to close out the regular season.
The Knights outscored the Stallions 23-3 in the first quarter and 25-9 in the third quarter to cruise to the victory Thursday evening.
“My whole thing was I wanted everybody to play,” Madera South head coach Jody Sharp said. “I also wanted to work in things. We wanted them to play hard, communicate, do the best you can and get better for the playoffs. That’s what I wanted them to do.”
The Stallions didn’t help themselves with 15 turnovers in the first quarter and 35 in the game.
“It’s really hard to keep a rhythm scoring just three points in the first quarter against a team that presses,” Sharp said. “Why are they pressing the whole game? I don’t know. You can’t turn the ball over against a team like that.”
Jayshawn Thomas led the Stallions with 15 points. Jacob Hernandez added 11 points, including a pair of 3-pointers.
Bullard opened the scoring with a 3-pointer, but Hernandez answered with one of his own to tie the game.
However, the Knights scored the next 20 points into the second quarter. In the run, Madera turned the ball over 10 times and missed six shots and two free throws.
Hernandez stopped the run with a turnaround, 12-foot jumper. He also made a free throw after a Bullard 3-pointer. Daniel Valdez found Jessie Ford for a layup.
Bullard tried to pull away with a jumper, but the Stallions fought back with 3-pointers from Alexis Rodriguez and Hernandez to cut the lead to 16. Ford answered a Bullard bucket with a pair of free throws.
The Knights put back a miss, but Madera South’s Isaiah Tyler answered with a layup. Bullard made a layup, but Thomas made a short jumper. Bullard made another layup and Thomas made a free throw.
The Knights made three free throws. Valdez closed the first half scoring with a layup off a pass from Thomas for a 41-23 Knights’ lead at the half.
Tyler opened the second half with a steal and layup. After a Bullard 3-pointer, Valdez made a free throw and Thomas made a layup to cut the lead to 17.
However, the Knights scored the next 11 points for a 27-point lead. Julian Galvan stopped the run with a layup off a pass from Ford. Bullard scored five straight points before Valdez found Jared Guglielmana for a layup.
The Knights closed the third quarter with six straight points for a 66-32 lead.
Thomas opened the fourth quarter with a steal and layup. After Bullard scored three points, Thomas made a layup. He came down with a rebound and went coast-to-coast for another layup.
The Stallions got two free throws from Hernandez and another steal-and-layup from Thomas. After a Bullard layup, Thomas made a free throw. Later, Jeremiah Gonzalez hit a 3-pointer to get the lead within 30.
The Knights closed the final minute with a 6-1 run for the 82-47 final.
