After starting off the 38th annual Frank Godinez basketball tournament on a slow pace, the Pitman High boys’ varsity team turned things around at the end as they finished in the winner's column after topping Ceres High, 65-46 on Saturday.
“We started slow once again only to find a rhythm in the second quarter led by more experienced players,” said Pitman head coach Harvey Marable.
There is no doubt that after dropping back-to-back games to Beyer and Laguna Creek the locker room shifted things, but it began after the Pride stalled in the first quarter once again scoring only nine while allowing 15.
The team did not panic but instead quickly turned the pace in their favor and went on a 19-10 run in the second to end the half up 28-25.
From there on the Pride went on a surge as they outscored the Bulldogs 37-21 in the second half to give the Pride their 19 point victory.
Branson Garcia led all scorers with 27 points shooting 10-of-17 from the field and added seven rebounds and three steals.
The second leading scorer of the game was Jando Diaz who dropped 17 points and made 50-percent of his shots, adding seven boards of his own and four assists.
“Our players are aware of the importance of creating a flow on offense that makes everyone comfortable and creates open shots that allows us to stay in a rhythm,” Marable said. “We were able to accomplish these goals on the last day of the tournament and it carried over to our game against Delhi.”
Pitman then headed into Delhi High where they met the Hawks on Monday and fortunately for the Pride they picked up right where they left off, going on a rampage in scoring as they ousted the Hawks 54-32.
The Pride were able to hold both opponents to under 46 points each, while the margin of victory was an average of over 20 points in both wins.
“This fueled our defense which allowed us to limit both teams to one shot per possession,” Marable said of the two wins.
Seven players for Pitman scored four or more points against Delhi, with Garcia as the leading scorer with 13, but Cyle Williams was on his trail with 12 of his own.
“The transformation over the last two games gave us a glimpse of how consistent we can play in the future,” Marable added.
