Although Princeton is Colusa County’s smallest high school, its boy’s basketball team certainly didn’t play like it last week in Maxwell, as the Eagles knocked of Los Molinos, Williams, and the host Panthers to win the championship at the 69th Annual Irene Wells Memorial Basketball Tournament.
While Princeton, last season’s Northern Section Division VII runner-up, opened the tournament with a relatively easy 59–47 over Los Molinos last Thursday afternoon, it was the 56–41 triumph over the Yellowjackets that was more impressive.
Junior Andrade led the Eagles with an 18-point effort, while Corwyn Robeson finished with 13, although seven Eagles broke into the scoring column.
However, it was Princeton’s total team defensive effort that was key to the victory, as it was again in the championship game against Maxwell, where it prevailed 65-54.
To be sure, the Eagles have matured over the offseason, a factor that was also significant, as they controlled the pace of the game, were strong on the boards, and were not intimidated by the Panthers’ physicality.
A close game going into half, Princeton held just a six point advantage over Maxwell, but blew the game open in the third quarter when its defense forced a series of turnovers, which allowed them to outscore the Panthers 21-9 in the period.
Although Maxwell cut the gap to 11 points in the final quarter, the Eagles never panicked and went on to claim the victory.
Robeson had a big game with 17 points and was also a key factor on the boards. Andrade tossed in an additional 15 points, while Alex Medina and Tito Reynoso finished with 11 points apiece.
Coach Jordan Dillard has done an admirable job shaping his squad, and believes there is much more to come.
“This team is special,” Dillard said. “I can see us making another deep run in the playoffs.”
Andrade, Medina, and Robeson were named to the All-Tournament team for the Eagles.
As for the hometown Panthers, who finished second overall, after posting wins over CORE Butte and Los Molinos prior to falling to Princeton.
In the 65-33 triumph over CORE Butte, Maxwell found itself down one after the first quarter, but put up 26 points in the second period, and carried that momentum through to the second half.
Dillon Dry pumped in 22 points, Berto Lara added 14, and Christian Lara pitched in with 12.
Against Los Molinos, the Panthers jumped out to an 11-0 start and, despite cooling off in the second half, managed to emerge with the 47-36 victory.
Christian Lara finished with a team high 18 points, while Berto Lara chipped in with nine.
Credit also goes to Robert Waite, who, for the second game in a row, was assigned the responsibility of shadowing the opponent’s best ball handler and, as a result, rendered each of those players a non factor in the outcome.
Dry and Christian Lara earned All-Tournament honors for the Panthers.
Williams, the defending tournament champions, finished as the third place team this year and opened with a resounding 71-29 over Upper Lake, behind its two All-Tournament selections Leo Trujillo and Brian Rosales.
Trujillo poured in 22 points, while Rosales dropped in 16 points,
Yet, the wheels fell off in the second game against Princeton as, despite Trujillo and Rosales finishing with 18 and 17 points, respectively, the rest of the team managed to add just six points to the total.
Still, the Yellowjackets bounced back in their final game with a 74-34 win over CORE Butte.
Rosales tallied a game high 21 points, Trujillo and Johnny Alcaraz scored 12 apiece, and Alexis Velazquez contributed 11 points.
This week, Princeton (3-0) hit the road to face Elk Creek on Tuesday and CORE Butte on Wednesday, Maxwell (4-3) hosted Etna and Paradise Adventist Academy on those same days, while Williams (3-3) welcomed Esparto to town on Monday, traveled to Winters on Tuesday, and begins play at Colusa’s Georgia Raczniak Tournament tonight. ■
