Coyotes prove too much for fledgling Toros
Wendy Alexander/The Madera Tribune
Madera’s Elias Torres pulls up for a bucket as Matilda Torres’ Lawrence Watson flies by for two of his game-high 18 points in last Monday’s victory over the neighboring school.
The Madera Coyotes used a stifling defense and a wide-spread offense for an 81-35 rout of the Matilda Torres Toros in the first-ever varsity meeting between the two schools.
Madera led 17-4 in the first quarter while Torres missed eight of its first nine shots. From there, the Coyotes cruised with a 39-13 halftime lead and outscored the Toros 42-22 in the second half last Monday in Joe Flores Gym.
“It’s always going to be a rivalry when Madera schools go against each other,” Madera head coach David Lozano said. “Everyone knows everybody here. That’s the fun part. I was proud of the way my guys let the scoreboard talk and didn’t taunt. We’ve been on that side of the scoreboard before so there’s now need to be arrogant.”
Madera had 11 different players score, including three in double-figures. Elias Torres led Madera with 18 points and six rebounds. Robbie Baez added 12 points and Zeshan Ahmad scored 13 points.
Madera shot almost 50 percent (33-of-68) from the field and committed just 14 turnovers and just three in the first half.
“Every game, we have to find a way to improve,” Lozano said. “We had a close win against Reedley and a loss to El Diamante-Visalia. We were able to hit shots and take care of the basketball. Defensively, we’ve been playing like that the last couple of games.”
Arturo Corona led the Toros with 10 points and Demitrio Nila provided some spark with seven points with seven different players scoring.
The Toros’ Joel Conde scored the first points of the game. However, the Coyotes scored the next 17.
Baez scored on a layup off an assist from Jojo Pickens. Torres turned a steal into a layup and Ben Prim hit a 15-foot jumper.
Baez added a 3-pointer, Torres hit a 12-foot jumper and Charles Barajas made a layup. Torres put back a miss and Pickens found Baez for another layup.
Joseph Bass finally stopped the run for the Toros with a pair of free throws just before the end of the first quarter.
Torres opened the second quarter with a 10-foot jumper, but Corona put back his own miss to answer.
Ahmad drained a 3-pointer, but Nila made a layup to answer for the Toros.
Off a pass from Martin Duran, Chris Gonzalez made a layup and Ahmad added a free throw. Torres made a free throw and J’Sean Gonzalez put back a miss. Baez went coast-to-coast with a rebound for a layup and Torres hit a 3-pointer for an 11-0 run.
Nila hit a 3-pointer and made a layup in between a Jazir Alejandre 3-pointer from Madera for a 36-13 Coyotes’ lead.
Alejandre added another 3-pointer before the end of the half for a 26-point lead.
Torres and Pickens made short buckets to open the third quarter scoring. Conde added a short bucket off an assist by Corona.
Torres made a pair of free throws, but Corona answered with a layup. Lawrence Watson added a pull-up jumper for the Toros.
Prim made a free throw and Pickens got a steal and fed Baez for a layup to begin a 20-0 run that included 10 Toros’ turnovers with nine steals.
Off a steal by Gonzalez, Pickens hit a short jumper. After Ahmad hit a 3-pointer, Duran got a steal and Pickens rewarded him with a pass for a layup. A three-second violation led to a Chris Gonzalez layup off a Duran assist. Duran got a steal and Ahmad made the layup. Another Duran steal led to a J’Sean Gonzalez layup. A Barajas steal led to another Gonzalez layup. Chris Gonzalez got a steal and J’Sean Gonzalez finished with a layup. Ahmad got a steal and a feed from Gonzalez for a layup for a 67-19 lead.
Bass stopped the run with a steal and layup. Moses Soto added a 3-pointer for the Toros.
Ahmad ended the third quarter scoring with a layup and a 69-24 lead.
With the running clock initiated, Torres opened the fourth quarter with a driving bucket. The Toros’ Enzo Cosentino hit a 3-pointer, but Alejandre answered for the Coyotes.
After a Baez free throw, the Toros scored six straight points. Corona put back a blocked shot, Cosentino made a layup after a Corona steal and another steal by Corona led to his layup.
Madera scored the next six points with a Duran putback, an Ethan Villegas bucket and a Prim offensive putback off a missed Villegas free throw. Corona closed the scoring with a layup in the 81-35 loss.
