The Cerro Coso men's basketball team opened Inland Empire Athletic Conference play hosting Palo Verde. The Coyotes, coming off a win over Reedley with only six healthy players dressed, looked to win their second straight with one game left until the Christmas and New Year's break. The Coyotes won the glass to overcome poor shooting from behind the arc and beat the Pirates 72-55.
"It was a good win. We came out and did what we had to do, played hard, we had a little lull on offense. Just didn't score and do what we needed to do but got it done," said head coach Chris Dugan. "Win is a win. At this point a win is a win, and we need to enjoy the wins we get."
Cerro Coso shot 43.9 percent from the field, 23.3 percent from the three-point line, and 53.8 percent from the free-throw line. The Coyotes finished with 41 rebounds with 16 offensive rebounds, 15 assists, four steals and a block, but had 11 turnovers.
The Coyotes had three players finish in double-digit scoring led by Jason Morris with 18 points, four assists, three steals, and seven rebounds. Trent Gordon had 18 points and six rebounds. Tzhari Trevino had 10 points and eight assists off the bench. Gavin Flowers had 11 rebounds with seven offensive rebounds.
The Coyotes put together a strong defensive performance and dominated on the boards. The home team held the visitors to under 30 points in both halves, and did so by limiting the second and third chances for the Pirates. Cerro Coso was active on the boards on both ends, which made it easy for the Coyotes' defense to keep the Pirates off the scoreboard. The defense also did a great job of not trying to get many steals, instead running the defense to force turnovers and keep Palo Verde from getting into a rhythm.
Dugan said about his team's defense and rebounding, "that's our bread and butter: pounding the paint. We don't shoot the ball really well, especially with John out. But found a way to win a game."
Cerro Coso was set to close the calendar year on the road visiting Victor Valley on Saturday. Tipoff is 3 p.m. The Cerro Coso coach said, "I would like to finish the break strong. We are going to have a 13-day break. Doing what we need to do and hopefully get a three-game win streak going into Christmas break. And obviously, Victor Valley will be a tough one but a really tough game against Chaffey."
Cerro Coso opened the game with Gordon scoring with a spin move in the post and Anthony Edouard scoring back-to-back layups from an offensive rebound for a 6-2 lead and a Coyotes timeout. After the timeout, the Pirates scored and the home team responded with Jami Hagger hitting back-to-back three-pointers for a 12-4 lead. Gordon scored on a layup and Morris hit a three on a pass from Flowers for a 17-8 lead.
Following a timeout, Gordon had back-to-back layups with passes from Edouard and Trevino for a 21-8 lead. That led to a timeout called by Palo Verde, and following it Hagger hit a corner three for a 24-8 lead. The visitors scored the next five points and the Coyotes stopped the run with a dunk by Gordon.
After a Palo Verde timeout, the Coyotes defense stopped the Pirates and that led to a layup by Gordon on an assist from Trevino. On the ensuing play, Trevino found Morris for a jump shot and a 30-15 lead. The Pirates hit a three-pointer and the Coyotes responded with Flowers scoring a layup after grabbing the offensive rebound. Trevino was fouled going for a dunk and hit both his free throws for a 34-18 lead. Morris stole the ball and scored a layup and then after a defensive stop he scored on a layup for a 38-20 lead. Edouard scored the final Coyote bucket in the first half on an offensive rebound and hit a jump shot for a 40-27 halftime lead.
Coming out for the second half, the visitors scored the first five points. Morris stopped the Pirates' run with a three to extend the lead to 43-32. Edouard won on the board and scored a layup after Palo Verde scored. Gordon scored a layup after the Pirates scored, and Trevino went 2-for-2 after being fouled for a 49-37 lead. Flowers was fouled but missed both his free throws but made up for it by grabbing and scoring an offensive putback on the ensuing play. Morris scored a layup for a 53-40 lead and a Cerro Coso timeout.
After the timeout, the Cerro Coso defense made the stop and Morris scored on a jump shot for a 55-40 lead. Trevino hit a three-pointer on a pass from Morris. After a stop, Trevino threw an alley-oop to Gordon for a layup on a two-on-one. Jason Bernabe was fouled and went to the free-throw line but missed his free throw. Morris grabbed the offensive rebound and scored the layup for a 62-45 lead.
Trevino hit a three on a pass from Morris and Edouard was fouled but missed his free throw. Gordon was fouled going for a layup and made both his free throws for a 67-47 lead. Morris hit a layup and then was fouled and went one for two at the line for a 70-53 lead. Morris found Flowers who hit a layup for a 72-55 lead and win.