Edison pours it on Coyotes

The Madera Coyotes boys basketball team knew it was in for a tough game against the Edison-Fresno Tigers, but came out with the attitude of playing hard to put pressure on the Tigers.

The Coyotes played the first and third quarters quite even (36-27), but it wasn’t enough in an 84-60 loss May 4 in Joe Flores Gym.

“I know the scoreboard said we were down by a lot, but we played so hard,” head coach David Lozano said. “They flew around like we asked them to do. If we can make some wide-open lay-ups, we’ll be okay. We shared the ball better than we have been. We missed some shots, but we played hard and I’m happy.

“It felt even,” Lozano said of the third quarter. “We are definitely the underdog. To compete with Div. I Edison and those athletes is what we ask for.”

Edison had four players in double figures, but the Coyotes almost had four themselves.

Kevin Bedejo led the Coyotes with 25 points. Fawzat Saed added 12 points and was a rebound shy of a double-double. Isaiah Monge added 11 points and Jazir Alejandre scored eight.

The Tigers scored the first nine points of the game before Bedejo hit a 3-pointer with 4:28 left. Edison led 15-9 at the end of the first.

A 3-pointer from Monge and a layup by Bedejo cut the Edison lead to three. However, Edison turned it up and scored the next 14 points for a 33-16 lead and a 41-24 halftime advantage.

Bedejo made a layup and Saed hit a 3-pointer to cut the lead to 12 but Edison went on a 16-0 run.

Bedejo scored six straight points at the end of the fourth quarter, but Edison led by 20.

The Tigers outscored the Coyotes 22-18 in the fourth quarter to cruise to an 84-60 victory.