Eduardo Miranda
The Daily Independent
The No. 20 Cerro Coso hosted Victor Valley in an Inland Empire Athletic Conference matchup with the Coyotes looking to keep pace with Chaffey and Mt. San Jacinto to win the conference championship with five games remaining in conference play.
In 40 minutes, the Coyotes played impressive defense and offense against the last place team in the conference to win 94-60 and improve to 9-2 in conference to stay tied with Mt. San Jacinto in second place and a game behind leader Chaffey.
"Thought it was good," said Head Coach Chris Dugan on his team's performance in the win. "Obviously, they are the bottom team in the league and so sometimes you cannot play hard but I thought we played really hard and didn't value our opponent and did what we needed to do. It was nice to see and we didn't do that the last time we played against Barstow."
The Coyotes coach continued he was glad to see his players not have a letdown because Victor Valley is in last place or worse play down to their opponent. He said when they do that it's hard to turn on the intensity needed to play at your best and it's like playing with fire. Instead, he saw his guys go out and play the way they needed to play and continue to get better, and he saw his team get even better.
After going on a 28-9 run in the first 11 minutes, the Coyotes took control of the game and that allowed Dugan to give his second unit and reserve players heavy minutes in the second half. Every player on the roster was able to get on the hardwood and the Coyotes were only two players from scoring to have the whole roster get a bucket.
"It was really nice because we have some guys who are pretty talented who don't play, and I think at other programs they would probably play," Dugan said on his second unit being ready to play. "But when you have your depth and are pretty good, you know. They put in the work so it's nice when we beat people, they get a chance to play."
Cerro Coso's calling card in wins has been its defense. The Coyotes held the Rams shooting percentage to 34.4 percent from the field and 14.3 percent from the three-point line. They finished with 10 steals, four blocks, and forced 14 turnovers. They outrebounded their opponent 43 to 33, and won on the offensive board 10-6 and defensive board 33-27.
"It's huge for us. It's in our DNA. We want to defend, we want to rebound, and we want to get out and go," Dugan said. "If we can do that, we have a chance to be very special. If we defend, we can beat anyone. If we are willing to defend and bite down, slide our feet we can beat a lot of good teams."
Cerro Coso had two starters and two second unit players finish in double digit scoring led by Destin Jenkins with 20 points, three rebounds, two assists, and a steal as a starter. Eddie Garner had 10 points, six assists, two steals, and a block in the starting five. Off the bench, Joshua Escheik had 19 points including five three-pointers, two rebounds, and three assists. Noah Brown added 13 points, eight rebounds, and two assists.
With five games remaining, the Coyotes are competing for the conference championship and a home playoff game. Dugan spoke on his team's goal for the remaining portion of conference.
"We control our own destiny when it comes to a league championship," the Coyotes coach said. "If we win out and do what we need to do, which we can, we are league champions. That is the goal right now. I think no matter what we are getting a home playoff game, whether it that first playoff round game. Who knows there is so much that can still happen from other teams losing but I like where we are at with the program. I really do like what we are doing, and I hope, two years ago we packed this place, I hope we do that again."
Cerro Coso are on the road visiting Palo Verde on Wednesday and then return home on Saturday to host San Bernardino Valley at 3 p.m.
The Coyotes opened the game with Sincere Edwards finding Destin Jenkins for a reverse layup. Darnell Turner Jr. grabbed an offensive rebounded but was fouled attempting a layup, and he hit one of two from the charity stripe. Malachi Greenwich scored on a fadeaway jump shot from the elbow and then stole the ball for a dunk to put his team ahead 7-2 with 17:19 forcing a Victor Valley timeout. Edwards scored a layup after grabbing the offensive board, Greenwich scored on a layup, and Escheik scored a layup on a pass from Jenkins for a 10-0 run that the Rams snapped after scoring at the free throw line. Greenwich found Trent Gordon for a layup and he scored the and-one free throw for a 16-3 lead with 13:12 left in the half. Jason Morris grabbed the offensive board and found Garner for a three-pointer for a 19-5 lead with 12:12 left on the clock and a Coyotes timeout.
Following the timeout, Escheik hit another three from a Garner pass and then he found Gordon for a dunk. That led to a Rams timeout with 10:35 left to play and a 24-7 Coyote lead. Garner found Gordon for a layup but he missed the and-one free throw for a 26-7 lead. Noah Brown hit a jump shot from the elbow for a 28-9 lead, and after the Rams scored the Coyotes scored the next five points on a Jenkins three and Brown jump shot. Cerro Coso led 33-11 with 7:43 left but Victor Valley responded with a 10-0 run. Jenkins stopped the run with a three pointer from a pass from Edwards for a 36-21 lead with less than five minutes left on the clock. Greenwich found Garner for a three pointer and a 39-21 lead. With 3:34 on the clock, Victor Valley was given a technical after a player threw the ball at Edwards back. Jenkins took the free throws and scored one of two, and then on the ensuing play Edwards stole the ball and dunked it for a 42-26 lead. Jenkins scored a jump shot on a behind the back pass from Turner on the baseline. Edwards went to the free throw line and scored one of two for a 45-26 lead. Greenwich hit a three from the top of the key and Jenkins scored a layup on an offensive board for a 50-30 lead at the half.
Cerro Coso started the second half with Jenkins scoring on a dunk to get the fans excited for a 52-30 lead. Garner found Gordon open for a dunk, and Turner scored on a jump shot and layup to cap an 8-0 run and a 58-30 lead. That forced a Rams timeout. The Coyotes continued the run with Garner hitting a long two, Edwards scoring a layup, and Escheik hitting a three after grabbing the loose ball for a 65-30 lead and a 15-0 run. Dugan called a timeout, and Victor Valley snapped the scoring streak with a two pointer. Escheik found Jenkins for a jump shot for a 67-32 lead with 13:36 left in the game.
That led to a Coyotes timeout and after the Rams scored the Coyotes scored on a putback by Morris. Escheik hit a three on a pass from Brown, Jenkins hit a three on a pass from Brown, and Escheik hit another three on a pass from Jonathan Leggett for a 78-42 lead. Escheik was fouled and hit both his free throws and then hit a three on a pass from Morris for an 83-44 lead with 5:44 left. Brown scored the next nine points hitting three three-pointers for a 92-56 lead with 2:34 left in the game. Garner hit a fadeaway bank shot to end the game.