Cards end Honkers' run with late rally

For the fourth time in four years Corning High and Willows met in the championship game of the Pierce Basketball Tournament and the Cardinals came away with their first title since 2008 with a 38-35 victory.

Winters claimed third place by beating host Pierce 47-36, Colusa held off a late charge by Live Oak to place fifth and Maxwell took seventh with a win against Biggs.

The Cardinals beat Live Oak in the first round and Winters in the second to reach the title showdown on Friday against the Honkers, who topped Colusa and Pierce in the opening two rounds on Wednesday and Thursday.

Corning 38, Willows 35

The Honkers led the majority of the game but Nick Hoag's put-back with just over 20 seconds left gave the Cardinals their first lead since early in the second quarter and Ezekiel Rodriguez made two free throws with one second on the clock to clinch the tournament championship on Friday.

Hoag, a sophomore forward, was called for a foul and missed two free throws midway through the fourth quarter, but grabbed two big rebounds and scored the go-ahead bucket inside the final two minutes to give Corning the win.

"I just knew I couldn't make any more mistakes, if fired me up," Hoag said. "At halftime coach told us to be more aggressive and as the half wore on we got them."

Honkers guard Ryan Welsh scored 11 first-half points and finished the game 17 points, 10 rebounds and three steals, but Corning's defense clamped down in the second half, allowing just 11 total points.

"They run everything through Ryan Welsh and we knew he was going to get his points so we tried to hold everybody else down and it worked," said Corning coach Bill Mache.

Hoag scored eight points and grabbed seven rebounds, second on the team in both categories to center Michael Shoemaker who scored 12 points and nabbed 15 rebounds. Cody Long and Rodriguez both scored seven points and Ryan Holland added four.

"Holland was cramping up and was really having difficulty running," Mache said. "He's kind of our motor but he gutted it out and it worked out for us."

Alex Alves scored eight points for the Honkers, including two 3-pointers in the first half.

The loss dropped Willows' record to 2-2 and Corning, which handed the Honkers both its losses, improved to 4-0.

"We couldn't execute at the end and we weren't prepared for that press at the end," said Willows coach Darrell Schonauer. "We played well we did a lot better than we did the first time we played them and we're starting to execute our offense a little better."

Winters 47, Pierce 36

The Bears led the game 34-33 early in the fourth quarter but the Winters defense clamped down on Friday and took the third place game 47-36.

Skyler Geerts scored 24 points and went 10-for-10 from the free-throw line to lead the Warriors. John Botro and Henry Nicholson each scored seven points.

Winters (3-1) made 7-of-10 free throws down the stretch to widen the lead after a back-and-forth battle for most of the game.

Pierce (1-2) used the tournament as a learning experience, especially for first-year coach Noah Gomez, who coached Maxwell last season.

"The hardest thing for me right now is figuring out who to sub in and sub out and where to put some kids in certain positions so they can be successful," Gomez said.

Andy Corona led the Bears with 13 points and Oscar Dorantes scored 12. Pierce opened its season with a 1-2 record in the tournament.

"It's nice to have a challenge at the beginning because it sets the tone for the season," Gomez said. "Defense is a strength right now for sure, our goal every game is to keep them under 40."

Colusa 54, Live Oak 52

Colusa led by 14 points midway through the fourth quarter but the Lions went on a 17-5 run to close the game, but the RedHawks' Bre'on Jones blocked a shot with less than a second to play and Jordan Hillis tipped away the in-bounds pass to seal the 54-52 victory in the fifth-place game on Friday.

Hillis sank four 3-pointers and scored a team-high 17 points.

"We have a lot of speed on offense, the fast breaks are what helps us win games," Hillis said.

Jones put together a strong all-around game with 13 points, 10 rebounds, five assists, four blocks and three steals. Cyrus Yerxa (10 points) and Tyler Martin (8) contributed on offense as well as defense.

"It was mostly our motion, we just ran a lot of screens and pick-and-rolls and basically we just came off and had easy buckets by posting up our man down low," Jones said.

Aaron Pamma scored nine of his game-high 20 points in the fourth quarter and Jasnit Mahal chipped in 15 points for the Lions, five in the final period.

"I was getting a little worried but we just had to stay there and focus on our game and play tight (defense)," Jones said.

The RedHawks went 2-1 in the tournament after opening with a loss to Willows.

Maxwell 49, Biggs 39

The Panthers rode a big first quarter to victory against Biggs in the seventh-place game on Friday.

Maxwell led 17-9 after the first period and maintained that lead throughout, winning 49-39.

Riley deWit led three Panthers in double digits with 17 points. Zach Troughton scored 12 points and pulled down 10 rebounds and George Barajas had a 10 point, 10 steal double-double in addition to six assists.

"We're learning to play together," deWit said. "Everyone is a key player really, we all have to play together to win."

The victory evened Maxwell's season record at 2-2 after going 1-2 in the tournament.

"We had flashes of good stuff and bad stuff, our kids aren't used to playing schools this big," Maxwell coach Forrest Bateman said. "It's just confidence, we have three sophomore starters and a junior."

Thursday

Corning 53, Winters 42

Willows 68, Pierce 37

Colusa 68, Biggs 31

Live Oak 62, Maxwell 44

Wednesday

Corning 54, Live Oak 44

Willows 55, Colusa 34

Winters 69, Maxwell 40

Pierce 54, Biggs 33

CONTACT Kirk Barron at 458-2121 or kbarron@tcnpress.com.