Stallions defense too much
Wendy Alexander/The Madera Tribune
Madera South’s Hakeem Primes goes through the Madera Coyote defense of Mark Cardoza (24) and Cameron Vaughn during Wednesday’s 55-34 victory.
The Madera South Stallions boys basketball team held the Madera Coyotes without a field goal for more than 12 minutes for a 55-34 victory in Joe Flores Gym.
The Stallions’ defense held Madera to just 22 percent (10-of-45) from the field and 3-of-19 (16 percent) from 3-point land Wednesday. Madera also had trouble at the free throw line, shooting just 41 percent (11-of-27).
“The difference in this game was how we played defensively,” Madera South head coach Jody Sharp said. “I was proud how the kids played defense. That ends up being a key to this game.” “That was a big struggle, not being able to hit a shot,” Madera head coach Mike Hawkins said. “They beat us. They played really well and knocked down shots. They took it too us.”
Jonah Johnson led the Stallions with 18 points with eight rebounds and was the beneficiary of the extra pass by the Stallions. Hassan Bolden added 14 points with nine rebounds. Madera South recorded 15 assists in the game.
“We talked about wanting to be able to make the extra pass to take advantage of the opportunities we have,” Sharp said. “We didn’t shoot the ball well, but our defense made up for it.”
Mark Cardoza led the Coyotes with 11 points. However, the Coyotes received a spark from back-up center Ricardo Bueno, who pulled down a team-leading seven rebounds.
“Ricardo came in got some rebounds and went to the foul line,” Hawkins said. “He played strong.” However, with the playoffs coming up, Sharp is more concerned about the health of David Thomas and Hassan Bolden. Thomas led the game midway through the second quarter with an ankle injury. Bolden collided with Madera’s Cameron Vaughn in the fourth quarter and might have suffered a concussion.
“I’m scared we may have lost David,” Sharp said. “I hope Hassan is okay too. My main concern is David and Hassan.”
Madera’s Gabriel Villegas got the scoring started with a short bucket off a steal from Gabriel Ruiz. However, the Stallions got back-to-back layups from Johnson off assists from Hakeem Primes and Thomas.
Cardoza hit a jumper to tie the score at four. Madera South came back with a Primes driving baseline layup and an Andre Johnson 3-pointer for a 9-4 lead.
Neither team scored over the next two minutes. Madera South missed four shots, two free throws and committed three turnovers. Meanwhile, Madera turned the ball over three times and missed four shots.
Junior Segura stopped the scoring drought with a layup off a pass from Primes. Cardoza answered with two free throws. Vaughn made a layup to cut the lead to three.
Amire Green made a free throw for the Stallions. Madera closed the first quarter with a Vaughn free throw and a driving layup from Arthur Flores.
The Stallions opened the second quarter with an 8-0 run. Jonah Johnson started the run with a layup off an assist from Segura. Then, Johnson hit Bolden with a pass for a short bucket. Nate Adams put back a miss for an 18-11 Madera South lead.
Primes added two free throws and Bueno stopped the run with a free throw for a 20-12 Madera South lead.
Madera South then scored the next six points, off layups from Johnson, Green and Tank Dickson for a 26-12 lead.
Madera South missed its final five shots of the first half and Madera made four free throws before the end of the half to trail by 10.
Madera South opened the second half with six straight points. Bolden drove baseline for a layup, Dickson found Johnson for a layup and Bolden put back a miss for a 32-16 third quarter lead. Vaughn stopped the run and made Madera’s only field goal in the second and third quarter with a 3-pointer.
Madera South responded with an 11-0 run. Bolden put back a miss and Primes found Johnson for a pair of layups. Johnson hit Green for a turnaround jumper, Johnson scored off an inbounds and Green made a layup for a 43-19 lead heading into the fourth quarter.
Cardoza put back a miss for the Coyotes. Primes then hit a tear drop to keep the lead at 24. Cardoza answered with a layup. Kingsley Thomas made a free throw and Bolden hit a pair.
Villegas followed up with a 3-pointer to cut the lead to 22. Cardoza converted a 3-point play. Madera South got layups from Dickson and Bolden off assists from Adams and Johnson.
Bueno made two free throws and Andre Johnson hit a 3-pointer with three minutes left. Ruiz closed out the scoring with a 3-pointer for a 55-34 Madera South victory.
