COLUSA, CA (MPG) – After sailing through the first two games of its own 44th Annual Georgia Raczniak Tournament with wins over Etna and Clear Lake respectively, the Colusa RedHawks had no answer for Gridley in the championship match-up and as a result had to settle for second place after falling 32-66 to the Bulldogs.
Back on Dec. 9 the two teams faced off in Gridley, with Colusa suffering a one-point loss in a game that came down to the final possession.
However, it was not the case last Saturday night as the Bulldogs led wire to wire by dominating on the boards and playing tenacious defense, which allowed them to successfully defend the tournament title they also claimed last year.
With Gridley making it a point of emphasis to defend the three-point line, it held the RedHawks to 41 points below what they had averaged in their previous appearances on Dec. 18 and 19 and did not allow a Colusa player to reach double figures.
Senior Cade Smith had a team high nine points, while freshman Cooper Ayala tallied eight.
In spite of the loss both Smith and Ayala were named to the All-Tournament team.
Smith battled in the paint all tournament long, with Ayala showing poise beyond his years to lead Colusa in scoring.
To get to the title game, Colusa first beat Etna 68-55, then took care of business by downing Clear Lake 78-55.
Ayala finished with 15 points against the Lions in the first outing, then poured in 25 against the Cardinals.
Coach Brian Davis likes what he sees from his budding, young star saying, “Cooper’s something special and has the potential to be one of the best to ever come out of Colusa. He has his freshman moments, but he forgets about them and carries on. Guys gravitate to him which is unusual for a freshman.”
In the victory over Clear Lake, Gavin Recendez and Kaleb Castanon also pitched in with 13 and 10 points respectively.
Pierce and Williams also participated in the tournament, although both drew tough first round draws.
Facing Sutter in its first game, the Bears struggled mightily offensively and as a result suffered a 22-79 loss, but came from behind to defeat Williams 57-51 the following afternoon.
JR Figueroa dropped in 10 points in the loss to the Huskies, while against the Yellowjackets Damian Ambriz and Colin Dye had 15 points apiece and Adan Beltran chipped in with 11 points.
To close out the tournament, Pierce fell in a 46-47 heartbreaker to Corning as Ambriz went for 15 points and Figueroa added 12 points.
Dye earned All-Tournament honors for the Bears.
As for Williams, it was a tough go of it, starting with a 30-57 loss to Gridley in the opener, it then saw a lead slip away in a 51-57 defeat at the hands of Pierce, before dropping its final game 41-54 to Etna.
One particularly bright spot for the Yellowjackets was their All-Tournament selection Diego Ambriz, who subsequently scored 13, 21 and 10 points over the three games.
Pierce had one more contest prior to the holiday break, traveling to Woodland on Dec. 22, while Colusa and Williams resume play after the New Year.
