California Pintos basketball was back on the road Jan. 30 to play their fourth game ever against the Warrensburg Tigers. The Pintos were at an experience disadvantage, as the Tigers possessed a core of eight seniors in their rotation. The experience played a factor as the contest wore on, as Warrensburg pulled out to a double-digit lead in the second quarter and were never caught, defeating California 70-56.
At the start of the game, California got off to a slow start offensively by missing their first four shots, but their defense kept them within striking distance. However, California was dealt a crushing blow late in the first quarter when senior center Hunter Berendzen picked up his second foul and had to take a seat on the bench.
With Berendzen sidelined for most of the second quarter, the Tigers took command of the game by having their guards pressuring California's guards further up the court than California was used to. This pressure disrupted California's offense and the Tigers started to pull away to a ten-point lead. Warrensburg provided another crushing blow to California by hitting a fall-away three-pointer as the first-half clock expired to put Warrensburg ahead 33-20 at halftime.
Once again, the Pintos were in a tough position going into the locker room, as they were down by double-digits and in need of an offensive spark to get back in the game. California got the run they were looking for in the third quarter when they took advantage of a couple rushed shots by the Tigers and went on a 10-2 run, led by junior guard Gavin Porter, who scored five of the ten points. However, Warrensburg senior guard Gauge Claunch provided problems for California by scoring ten points and pulling down four rebounds in the third quarter to keep the Tigers ahead 50-42 with a quarter to play.
California made one final run in the fourth quarter to try and turn the game in their favor, but every time the Pintos got close the Tigers answered back. Each time California missed a shot, Warrensburg took advantage by beating California in transition and scored four fast-break layups in the fourth quarter to put the game out of California's reach. The Tigers held on for a 70-56 win over the Pintos.
In their loss to the Tigers, California shot 20-42 from the floor for 47 percent, 2-5 on three-pointers for 40 percent and made 14-20 free throws for 70 percent. Gavin Porter was California's high man with 15 points, two assists and two rebounds. The senior center overcame his early foul trouble to put up 10 points and eight rebounds. Sophomore guard Brooks Volkart also had 10 points and five assists. Freshman forward Landen Dunham had five points, two rebounds and an assist off the bench.
Warrensburg shot 27-43 from the floor for 63 percent, 10-13 from the foul line for 71 percent and 6-14 from three-point range for 43 percent. Jace Stanton had a game-high 23 points on 8-12 from the field with four rebounds and three assists. Senior guard Gage Claunch had 13 points, four rebounds and three assists. Senior guard Mason Wyatt shot 6-7 from the floor for 12 points, five rebounds and two assists.
Pintos Head Coach Brad Conway said California played throughout the game in spurts, but Warrensburg's shooting efficiency kept California at bay and erased any hope of a second-half comeback. Conway admitted playing a strong game for four quarters has been one of California's biggest struggles throughout the season and it reared its ugly head again against the Tigers.
"I thought that Warrensburg played well tonight. They've got a really good nucleus of seniors and I felt like their experience really showed up tonight when they got out to us and guarded us tightly near the top of the floor. Jace Stanton is a senior who does a lot of nice things for them and he did a nice job scoring for them tonight. I thought we did do some good things tonight offensively, but they took a lot of stuff away from us that we wanted to get into to," Conway said. "We did make a nice run of possessions in the third quarter where our guys moved around more and we got some good looks from that. Defensively, I though that our rotations started off slow and got better as the game wore on. There are some positives we can take away from this game tonight, but we've still got to get to work and hopefully play more consistently in the upcoming weeks before districts."
After losing to the Eugene Eagles 60-52 on senior night on Thursday, the Pintos' record is now 8-12. California will look to get back in the win column when they host the Eldon Mustangs on Friday night.
Junior guard Gavin Porter made 6-9 from the foul line and had a team-high 15 points in California 70-56 loss to Warrensburg on Jan. 30.(Democrat photo/Evan Holmes)
Junior guard Gavin Porter adjusts and gets a three-point play for the Pintos in the final seconds of the third quarter against Warrensburg. (Democrat photo/Evan Holmes)
Junior guard Ayden Bryant gets past the Tigers' defense for a layup. (Democrat photo/Evan Holmes)
Sophomore guard Brooks Volkart (right) dribbles past Warrensburg guard Josh Thomas.(Democrat photo/Evan Holmes)
Freshman forward Landen Dunham made 3-4 from the foul line and had five points, two rebounds, and an assist on Jan. 30. (Democrat photo/Evan Holmes)
Senior center Hunter Berendzen (right) boxes out Warrensburg guard Mason Wyatt for a rebound. (Democrat photo/Evan Holmes)
Junior forward Hayden Kilmer knocks down a mid-range jumper for the Pintos in the fourth quarter. (Democrat photo/Evan Holmes)
Pintos Head Coach Brad Conway addresses his team down 50-42 going into the fourth quarter. (Democrat photo/Evan Holmes)
California's two seniors Peter Dampf (left) and Hunter Berendzen (right) hug the parents of their former teammate Lucas Oswald, who passed away on July 5, 2021. Oswald would've been a senior this season. (Photo submitted by Kim Bryant)
California senior Hunter Berendzen is honored on California's senior night against Eugene on Thursday.(Photo submitted by Kim Bryant)
California senior Peter Dampf is honored on California's senior night against Eugene on Thursday.(Photo submitted by Kim Bryant)