Eduardo Miranda
The Daily Independent
For the second time under Head Coach Chris Dugan, the Cerro Coso Coyotes basketball team hosted the first round of 3C2A Men's SoCal Regional playoff. The No. 11 Coyotes welcomed the No. 22 Los Angeles Trade Tech Beavers. In what was a very close match for the first 20 minutes, the Coyotes changed their defensive tactic and were able to hold off the Beavers and avoid another upset at home in a 96-79 win. The win is the first for Dugan and the program, and the Coyotes coach spoke on winning a home playoff match and getting the first playoff win for the program.
"It is at this point the best win I've ever had in my entire life," Dugan said. "Coming in we lost the first time here at home got blown out, lost a close on against Pasadena. To win this game for the guys, it was amazing. Nothing makes me happier to live this moment and I get them for four more days. And I'm so excited about that and the season is not over, but it was a great win. Great turnout, community showed out. They were loud, they were rowdy, baseball team did a phenomenal job. I'm just so excited.
"It's a chip. We are building this brick by brick and we are not there yet. This playoff win was not just for them but all the guys that came before them and win as a team, win as a program. I had a couple alumni come tonight. This means a lot and I know we are doing the right thing by having guys playing the program before. Its just special and we got our 23rd win and that's a school record. We tied it two years ago and tied it this year, we got 23 and ready to get number 24."
The first half was a very close between the two teams, with Cerro Coso building an eight-point lead with 6:07 left in the first half. But the lead did not last long with LA Trade Tech cutting it to two by halftime, 45-43. The Beavers even tied the game at 45-45 in the start of the second half, and the game remained close until the 15:43 mark. The Coyotes went on a 14-0 run to extend a 55-53 lead into a commanding 69-53 lead. And in that run, the home team made a vital change on the defensive end and that was switching from man-to-man defense to a zone defense, which Dugan said.
"They really struggled against a zone for what they did and we really didn't plan to guard too much in zone," the Coyotes coach said. "And we really messed them up by going zone. They were not prepared for it. If we would have gone man, we would have lost by 30. They were quick and well coached, but just to make that adjustment with the guys rebounding, being strong with the ball, it was nice."
Cerro Coso held LA Trade Tech to 44.3 percent from the field and 39.3 percent from the three-point line. After allowing 45 points in the first half, they held the Beavers to 36 in the second half. The Coyotes offensively shot the ball 55.6 percent from the field but only 25 percent from the three-point line. Destin Jenkins led the team in scoring with 29 points including going 14 for 15 from the charity stripe. He grabbed nine rebounds with two on the offensive end and had four assists. Darnell Turner Jr. finished with 26 points, seven rebounds with five on the offensive glass, five assists, and four steals. Sincere Edwards had 15 points, six rebounds, an assist, and a steal. Malachi Greenwich off the bench had a double double with 12 points and 11 rebounds with 10 on the defensive glass and two assists.
With the win the Coyotes advance to the second round and face the No. 6 Citrus on Saturday. This will be the second meeting between the two teams with the first happening on December 16th with the Coyotes winning 78-59. Dugan spoke on the matchup and excitement of facing a quality team as Citrus.
"Citrus is one of the best pressing team in the state of California. They are tough, they will grind you defensively, they are good, their coach is really good, they are a successful program," he said. "They have gone to back-to-back Elite Eights. They have a winning culture, that's something we want to replicate and be like. We want to be known. They are good and they will be fired up. We beat them here in our place by 19, they will not only want to win but beat us down.
"Nothing is better than the opportunity to compete against good teams. And the opportunity just to go beat a good team, I'm so fired up. The guys will be locked in and we will make sure they are ready. If we win, I get my guys for seven more days and that's what I'm preaching. Get win No. 24 and let me get you for seven more days. And we can still be a team because once the season is over its not the same."
Cerro Coso travels to Citrus on Saturday with tipoff at 7 p.m.
The first half began with Turner scoring on a layup after grabbing the offensive rebound. The Beavers took the lead on a three-pointer but the Coyotes responded with Jenkins being fouled taking a three and hitting two of three from the line. The visitors scored on a layup to retake the lead and the home team tied the game when Edwards hit one of two from the charity stripe. But the visitors scored the next five points forcing Dugan to call a timeout trailing 10-5 with 16:26 left to play.
A steal by Escheik and the lead pass to Turner for a layup cut the deficit to three. The Beavers hit an open three and the Coyotes responded with Jenkins scoring both his free throws to cut the deficit to 13-9. The visitors hit another three and Edwards responded scoring a layup on an in-bound play forcing LA Trade Tech to call a timeout with 12:56 to play and the Coyotes trailing 16-11.
After the time out, the visitors scored three more points and Cerro Coso responded hitting its first three of the game from Greenwich on a pass by Escheik to cut the deficit to 19-14. On the ensuing play Turner stole the ball, found Escheik in the middle of the court, who then made the pass to Edwards for a layup to cut the deficit to three points. The Beavers responded scoring on the next play and the Coyotes answered back with Turner scoring a contested layup on a pass from Jenkins. After a defensive stop, the Coyotes cut the deficit to a point on a baseline jumper from Edwards on an in-bound play. The home team retook the lead on a corner three from Escheik and extended it with a layup from Turner forcing a Beavers timeout with 8:58 left in the half and the home crowd cheering a 25-21 lead.
Coming out of the timeout, the Beavers scored three more points. Jenkins won an offensive rebound and found Greenwich for a three to extend the lead to 28-24 and start a run. Jenkins hit a fadeaway jumper, Greenwich was fouled and made the layup but missed the and-one free throw for a 7-0 run. The visitors responded scoring a contested three-pointer and the Coyotes scored on a Turner layup on a pass from Greenwich. After the visitors scored an open jumper, Dugan called for a timeout with 4:42 left in the half and leading 34-29.
The visitors cut the lead to three after the time out, but the home team responded with Jenkins scoring on a reverse layup. The Beavers continued to find ways to score on the much taller and longer Coyotes defense, and the Coyotes came back down to score with Turner finding Greenwich for an alley-oop dunk with 3:36 left. After a three from the visitors, Escheik was fouled and hit both of his free throws with the Coyotes in the bonus with 3:10 left in the half and a 40-36 lead. After a defensive stop, Jenkins scored on a layup for a 42-36 lead. The visitors scored on their next possession and the Coyotes scored on a Turner layup for a 44-38 lead with 1:52 until halftime. The Beavers scored five unanswered points until Trent Gordon went one for two from the free throw line to give the Coyotes a 45-43 halftime lead.
The second half began with the Beavers scoring the first three points to retake the lead until Gordon scored an easy layup on a pass from Turner. But the Beavers scored to retake the lead and the Coyotes answered back with a layup by Turner on an in-bound play. After a defensive stop, the Coyotes scored on another Turner layup from a Jenkins pass for a 51-48 lead. The Beavers cut the lead to one after scoring in the paint and Turner extended the lead after grabbing the offensive rebound and scored the layup. That forced Dugan to call a timeout with 16:24 left in the game and his team up 53-50.
That was the start of a 16-3 run by the Coyotes. The Beaver scored a three after the time and Gordon scored on a layup on a pass from Jenkins. Jenkins hit a corner three on a pass from Eddie Garner. Gordon hit a hook shot in the paint forcing a Beavers timeout with 13:42 left and a 60-53 Coyotes lead. Out of the timeout, the Coyotes made another stop and Edwards was fouled on a layup attempt. He scored on of two from the line and then Jenkins was fouled taking a three and he scored all three free throws. Edwards hit a corner three and Jenkins scored a layup to finish the run and give the Coyotes a 69-53 lead with 12:24 left.
The Beavers scored on a contested layup and Escheik responded by finding an open lane for a layup. Edwards scored on a reverse layup to force a Beavers timeout with 10:27 left and the home team leading 73-55. Out of the timeout, the visitors scored the next five points until Turner scored on a layup from an Edwards pass. Gordon missed his shot but Turner was there to score on the putback. The Beavers scored on a layup and Jenkins went to the line and scored all three of his attempts. But the visitors went on another 5-0 run, forcing the home team to take a timeout leading 80-67 with 6:44 left on the clock.
Jenkins scored two more at the free throw line and Turner extended the lead on a layup from a steal. LA Trade Tech scored one of two from the free throw line and the home team responded with Gordon grabbing the offensive board and scoring on the layup for an 86-68 lead with 3:56 left after the visitors took a timeout.
The Coyotes made a defensive stop and that led to Jenkins scoring on a layup for an 88-68 lead. But the visitors scored the next six points until Edwards scored on a layup for a 90-74 lead. On the ensuing possession, Edwards was called for his fifth foul of the evening. Turner hit both his free throws with the home team in the bonus. The visitors scored in the paint and the Coyotes had Jenkins go to the line where he scored both attempts. Greenwich hit a jump shot late in the shot clock for a 96-77 lead and the visitors scored a final bucket before the final whistle sounded.