Central Valley High School's six-point lead disappeared in a hurry.
Los Banos outscored the upset-minded Hawks 19-9 in the second period and showed no mercy on its way to winning the Western Athletic Conference varsity boys basketball tilt 71-56 Friday night in Ceres.
"I thought we were going to beat them," Central Valley guard Jaron Dickson said. "We just didn't play good defense. We gave up too many easy layups. Our rotations were off."
The Hawks dropped to 2-3 in the WAC standings.
The Tigers improved to 4-1 in conference play.
Fourth-place Central Valley suffered its third consecutive loss.
"I do think we'll turn things around," Dickson said.
Jaron, a freshman guard, tallied 15 points. He made four 3-pointers.
Junior Miguel Rodriguez, Camron Thornton and sophomore Ja'Quan Gardner had 16, 11 and eight points, respectively.
The Tigers overcame a 16-10 deficit and led 29-25 at halftime.
"Los Banos has a good team," Central Valley head coach Darryl Dickson said. "I was comfortable with where we were at halftime. I didn't think we'd break down defensively like we did. They did what they were supposed to do. They just played harder and better than us in the second half. It's a good learning experience."
The Hawks trailed 48-33 at the end of the third quarter. "Our help defense was horrible," coach Dickson said. "That comes with our inexperience. We'll get better."
Jaron hit three 3-pointers in a four-minute span as the Hawks cut the deficit to 11 with 2:41 to play. Dickson competed at the junior-high level last year.
"They (high-school players) are 10 times more stronger and faster," he said.
Central Valley will play host to Ceres High (2-3) today at 7:30 p.m. The crosstown-rival Bulldogs have won the last four meetings.
Freshman
Central Valley's and Los Banos' freshman boys basketball teams battled to a 24-all tie in the opening half of Friday's WAC showdown.
The short-handed Hawks seized the momentum after intermission and earned a hard-fought 57-47 victory.
"We started off sluggish in the beginning," Hawks guard Joseph Montalvo said. "We stepped up towards the middle of the game."
Robert Preciado poured in a game-high 24 points for Central Valley (3-2).
Montalvo drained two treys and totaled 10 points.
Ramon Coral and Nimrat Chahal both contributed eight points.
Central Valley will battle visiting Ceres High (2-3) today at 4:30 p.m.
Los Banos outscored the upset-minded Hawks 19-9 in the second period and showed no mercy on its way to winning the Western Athletic Conference varsity boys basketball tilt 71-56 Friday night in Ceres.
"I thought we were going to beat them," Central Valley guard Jaron Dickson said. "We just didn't play good defense. We gave up too many easy layups. Our rotations were off."
The Hawks dropped to 2-3 in the WAC standings.
The Tigers improved to 4-1 in conference play.
Fourth-place Central Valley suffered its third consecutive loss.
"I do think we'll turn things around," Dickson said.
Jaron, a freshman guard, tallied 15 points. He made four 3-pointers.
Junior Miguel Rodriguez, Camron Thornton and sophomore Ja'Quan Gardner had 16, 11 and eight points, respectively.
The Tigers overcame a 16-10 deficit and led 29-25 at halftime.
"Los Banos has a good team," Central Valley head coach Darryl Dickson said. "I was comfortable with where we were at halftime. I didn't think we'd break down defensively like we did. They did what they were supposed to do. They just played harder and better than us in the second half. It's a good learning experience."
The Hawks trailed 48-33 at the end of the third quarter. "Our help defense was horrible," coach Dickson said. "That comes with our inexperience. We'll get better."
Jaron hit three 3-pointers in a four-minute span as the Hawks cut the deficit to 11 with 2:41 to play. Dickson competed at the junior-high level last year.
"They (high-school players) are 10 times more stronger and faster," he said.
Central Valley will play host to Ceres High (2-3) today at 7:30 p.m. The crosstown-rival Bulldogs have won the last four meetings.
Freshman
Central Valley's and Los Banos' freshman boys basketball teams battled to a 24-all tie in the opening half of Friday's WAC showdown.
The short-handed Hawks seized the momentum after intermission and earned a hard-fought 57-47 victory.
"We started off sluggish in the beginning," Hawks guard Joseph Montalvo said. "We stepped up towards the middle of the game."
Robert Preciado poured in a game-high 24 points for Central Valley (3-2).
Montalvo drained two treys and totaled 10 points.
Ramon Coral and Nimrat Chahal both contributed eight points.
Central Valley will battle visiting Ceres High (2-3) today at 4:30 p.m.
