Boys basketball: Cardinals’ defense sparks victory over Lancers


(Staff file photo by Keith Durflinger)

WHITTIER – Scoring droughts in high school basketball are to be expected. But it’s painful when they come at the wrong time.
Whittier held visiting La Serna to just six points in the third period on the way to a 62-51 victory to open the Del Rio League season. Both teams tied for last season’s championship (for the second straight time), but La Serna took the title by a tiebreaker rule.
If there was a star in Wednesday night’s contest, it was the Cardinals’ defense, a collapsing zone, spearheaded by ball-hawking guards Damien Salcedo and Willie Pittman, that caused more than a little trouble for the Lancers’ big guys, Taurean Oram (6-foot-6) and Jared Wight (6-5). They still got 30 points between them, but had to work awfully hard to get them.
“Most teams who scout us see us playing a full-court press,” Whittier coach Joey Mata said. “So our collapsing zone might have been a bit of a surprise. We felt we had to stop their big guys, who are really good players.”

After a see-saw battle in the first half in which Whittier (9-8, 1-0) led 34-30, La Serna (8-8, 0-1) had a tough time finding the range in the crucial third quarter.
In fact, the Lancers even had trouble getting a shot. They were 2 of 8, while the Cardinals increased their lead to 45-36. Oram hit only 2 of 6 free throws during that span.
“I thought we were competitive,” La Serna coach Mike Lowe said. “But we need to improve on our halfcourt defense. They kept hitting those 3s, but they worked for them. Sometimes we left them wide open.”
Whittier made seven 3-pointers in an up-tempo game. The Cardinals built on their lead by shooting 11 of 14 from the free-throw line in the fourth quarter.
Oram led all scorers with 16 points and Wight added 14. Pittman sparked Whittier’s balanced attack with 14 and Salcedo and Jerry Leon each scored 12.

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