After a win at Warsaw Feb. 11, the California Pintos played back-to-back games Friday and Saturday where they captured two more wins to wrap up a busy but successful week.
It started off with an 86-68 conference win at Warsaw Feb. 11.
"I was pleased with this game," California Coach Blair Scanlon said. "We could've been better defensively, but we scored a lot of points very quickly."
The Pintos led 22-20 after the first quarter, 47-40 at the half and 68-56 after three quarters.
California was led by Jaden Barr with 24 points. Dylan Albertson followed with 18, while Jerry Lutz scored 11 and Damon Shaw added 10.
California's JV also defeated Warsaw, 56-26.
The Pintos were on the road again Friday night, for Eldon's Courtwarming, where California pocketed a 69-65 conference win in overtime.
Eldon outscored California 13-12 in the first quarter and 11-9 in the second to lead 24-21 at the half. The Mustangs had a 37-33 advantage after three quarters, however, the Pintos outscored Eldon 21-17 in the fourth quarter to even the score at 54-54 at the end of regulation. In overtime, the Pintos outscored the Mustangs 15-11 to secure the win.
"Jerry Lutz made the shot that took us into overtime," Scanlon said. "Eldon had the lead, so we had to fight and claw our way back. We picked up our defense in the second half. They out-played us."
California was led by Barr with 18 points, followed by Albertson with 16.
Eldon was led by Josh Jones with 28 points.
California's JV defeated Eldon 67-33, while the freshman Pintos also won, 43-37.
California hosted Pilot Grove Saturday afternoon, where the Pintos defeated the Tigers 79-61.
"This was a make-up game for both teams, and it was a good, hard-fought game," Scanlon said.
California outscored Pilot Grove 19-18 in the first quarter and 21-13 in the second to lead 40-31 at the half. The Pintos led 57-49 after the third quarter, then turned up the heat in the final frame to outscore the Tigers 22-12 to take the win.
The Pintos will play at Iberia today (Wednesday), beginning with the JV game at 6 p.m.
California's Courtwarming is Friday, Feb. 21. The Pintos will host the Tipton Cardinals, beginning with the JV game at 6 p.m. The coronation and varsity game will follow, respectively.
California (15-6 and 4-2) will play Hallsville at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 25, in the first round of the Class 3 District 8 Tournament at Blair Oaks High School, Wardsville. The Pintos are seeded fourth, while the Indians are seeded fifth.
The championship game is scheduled for 6 p.m. Saturday, March 1.
"Every team in our district is very competitive," Scanlon said. "I think the seeding came out like it should have. I think it's going to be difficult for everyone. One game at a time is how I always look at it. I just have to make sure I'm doing my job to get the guys prepared."