Honkers win on homecoming, control SVL destiny

Willows High established itself as the team to beat in the Sacramento Valley League on Friday, beating Pierce High 72-58, completing an undefeated run through the first half of the league schedule.

The Honkers (14-6, 5-0 SVL) strengthened their grip first place by catching fire on Homecoming and shooting 63 percent from the field.

Pierce (10-6, 3-2 SVL) had a chance to earn a share of the league lead with a win, but let a three-point deficit at halftime balloon to 13 at the end of the third quarter. The loss dropped Pierce into a tie for second place with Durham.

In front of a loud Homecoming crowd, the Honkers struggled with turnovers in the first half, but regained their focus in the second half, according to coach Darrell Schonauer.

"The kids from Pierce have always played hard, they're organized and cause a lot of turnovers. They slap the ball and we turned the ball over 11 or 12 times in the first half," the coach said.

Despite the slow start, Willows led by one after the first quarter and went up 26-23 at halftime after Ryan Welsh made 2-of-3 free throws when he was fouled on a hail mary shot at the buzzer.

Midway through the third quarter, Pierce's Jesus Huerta sank a three-pointer to bring the Panthers within one point, 32-31, but Ryan Amaru blocked a shot, converted on a three-point play and made two free throws in quick succession to snatch the momentum back in the Honkers' favor.

"I just think we started taking care of the ball better, we had better movement and Ryan Amaru got going inside and they didn't have anyone to guard him," Schonauer said.

Amaru's performance was especially impressive because he was battling an illness which made him miss school on Thursday, Schonauer said.

Willows shot 8-for-12 from the floor in the third quarter and made all six free throw attempts while the Panthers converted on just 5-of-13 attempts.

"The third quarter is the biggest quarter in any basketball game and the team that pulls away and plays hard in the third quarter usually pulls out the win," Pierce coach Noah Gomez said. "They came out hard in the third quarter and we didn't respond. I think that was the biggest difference in the game."

Amaru scored his 20th point of the game late in the fourth quarter for a 68-49 lead before the Bears closed the gap to 14 points at the final horn.

The Bears tried to be physical and keep the ball out of Amaru's hands, Gomez said.

"It worked a couple times but he's just so much bigger and he's really good underneath the basket. Once he gets it there he knows how to get it in the hoop," the coach said.

Senior guards Welsh, Bryce Jones and Nathan Boyd limited their turnovers in the second half and found ways to get the ball to Amaru near the hoop.

"It starts with trying to pressure the guys up top and making them make tough decisions and try to take advantage of their mistakes. Their guards are really good and they don't make a lot of mistakes so it's hard to do that," Gomez said.

Welsh entered halftime with 10 points and nearly completed a triple-double, but had to settle for 17 points, nine assists and eight rebounds. Jones added 11 points, four assists and two blocks, and Boyd scored three points and dished out four assists.

Honkers senior forward Alex Alves scored 12 of his 16 points in the second half and made 8-of-12 shots. He added seven rebounds and a block.

Chris Tapia shot well from behind the three-point arc to lead the Bears with 23 points. Tapia scored 13 of Pierce's 23 points in the first half and made his fourth three-pointer on the final shot of the game.

Andy Corona scored 12 points, and Taylor Cabral and Oscar Dorantes each chipped in seven for Pierce.

Willows traveled to Weaverville on Tuesday to play Trinity, a team the Honkers beat 65-58 on Jan. 14, and they play again on Friday in Live Oak.

Pierce makes the short trek north to Colusa today. The Bears beat the RedHawks twice this year but haven't played them in Colusa. The Bears will make the long road trip to play Trinity on Friday, a team the Bears beat 71-59 on Jan. 17 in Arbuckle.

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