California Pintos basketball returned home last week to host the annual California Tournament.
The Pintos were seeded as the No. 3 seed, taking on the No. 6 Warrensburg Tigers on Jan. 10 in the first round.
The Pintos managed to grab a one-point lead at the end of the first quarter. From the second quarter on, California's defense stole the spotlight, holding the Tigers to shooting 1-12 three points in the second quarter. California led 22-13 at halftime.
In the third quarter, the Pintos' offense exploded for 26 points. Senior guards Gavin Porter and Ayden Bryant combined for 16 of the points. Leading by as many as 28 points in the second half, California cruised to a 65-38 victory over Warrensburg, advancing to the semifinals.
California shot 50 percent from the field (26-52), 33 percent from the three-point line (4-12) and 53 percent from the foul line (9-17).
Bryant had 15 points (7-11 from the foul line), four rebounds, four assists and two steals. Hayden Kilmer had 15 points, five rebounds, four assists and three steals. Gavin Porter had 13 points, three rebounds, three steals and two assists. Guard Brooks Volkart had six points, five assists and two steals. Forwards Landen Dunham and Blaine Kusgen each had six points.
Warrensburg shot 40 percent from the field (14-35), 33 percent from the three-point line (5-15) and 83 percent from the foul line (5-6).
Guard Josh Thomas led the Tigers with 17 points, four rebounds, three steals and an assist. Guard Nick Nimmo had 11 points, four assists and two rebounds. Forward Maddox Mulenkamp had ten points, seven rebounds and two blocks.
"We talked in the locker room before the game that we need to be consistent and do the little things. We had to put our last loss at Hallsville behind us and our focus had to be on tonight," Pintos head coach Brad Conway said. "I thought the guys were really locked in. Gavin got that aura about him that he had when he makes some shots. Blaine Kusgen had a really nice game tonight offensively and defensively. Overall I thought this was one of our best games were we played really well together for four quarters."
The Pintos came back to the hardwood 24 hours later for their semifinal game against the Capital City Cavaliers. Last season in the California Tournament, Capital City defeated California in the semifinals.
The Cavaliers came out of the game knocking down shots from all over the floor while the Pintos struggled to put the ball in the basket. Capital City guards Imran Din-Gabisi and Aman Kesete outscored the entire Pintos team in the first half and helped the Cavaliers take a 35-11 lead into the half.
Despite their efforts to make a comeback, the Pintos' shooting struggles continued in the second half and Capital City walked away with a 60-31 win over California.
California shot 20 percent from the field (8-40), 8 percent from the three-point line (1-13) and 52 percent from the foul line (14-27).
Kilmer had eight points, five rebounds and two steals. Chase Trimble had seven points, two rebounds, a steal and a block.
Capital City shot 43 percent from the field (22-51), 31 percent from the three-point line (8-26) and 54 percent from the foul line (7-13).
Din-Gabisi led the Cavaliers with a game-high 21 points with six rebounds, two assists and two steals. Kesete had 19 points, eight points, two steals, an assist and a block.
"Not only were they athletic, but they shot the ball extremely well in the first half. We had some good looks tonight but it felt like there was a lid on the rim. Turnovers and rebounding was a big key to us staying in the game and they won both of those battles. This is one game we've got to put behind us and just get ready for the next one," Conway said.
The Pintos looked to get back on track two days later in the third place game against the Moberly Spartans.
Both teams went back and forth in the first half, but California was able to grab the upper hand with the help of six points from both Ayden Bryant and Gavin Porter.
Leading by eight points going into the second half, the Pintos turned to their defense to keep them in the lead. Just like in their initial game against Warrensburg, California's defense was able to steal the spotlight with eight steals and 14 fast break points in the second half. Forward Landen Dunham propelled the Pintos with 14 points in the half, including two three-point plays. California pulled away from Moberly for a 59-38 win to finish the tournament in third place.
California shot 49 percent from the field (25-51), 0 percent from the three-point line (0-1) and 45 percent from the foul line (9-20).
Dunham led the way with 16 points, seven rebounds and a steal. Bryant had 15 points, three rebounds, two assists and two steals. Porter had ten points, four rebounds, an assist and a steal. Guard Brooks Volkart had four points, four assists and four steals.
Moberly shot 30 percent from the field (14-46), 13 percent from the three-point line (3-23) and 54 percent from the foul line (7-13).
Forward B.J. Godreau had nine points, five rebounds and two steals. Guard Kish Jacobs Jr. had seven points, two rebounds, two assists and a steal. Guard Keegan Graves had six points, two rebounds, a steal and a block.
"Hayden (Kilmer) tried to go in warm-ups and he got dead-legged and couldn't play. So it was the next man up and Chase Trimble replaced him in the starting lineup. Our guys Chase, Blaine (Kusgen), Will (Edwards) and Brayden (Hallford) off the bench gave us really good minutes," Conway said. "I felt like we're playing fast, but out of control. We did a better job of that in the second half and then our defense led to some easy offensive opportunities for us. We've got some things that we need to clean up, but we still got a double digit win."
The Pintos are now 8-6 and will host Linn on Thursday night.
Democrat photo/Evan Holmes — Ayden Bryant drives to the rim Jan. 10 for a three-point play as part of a 15-point outing in California's win over the Warrensburg Tigers in the opening round of the California Tournament.
(Democrat photo/Evan Holmes)
Forward Landen Dunham had 16 points and seven rebounds against the Moberly Spartans in Saturday's
(Democrat photo/Evan Holmes)
Guard Brooks Volkart had six points, five assists and two steals in California's first round win over the Warrensburg Tigers.
(Democrat photo/Evan Holmes)
Junior forward Hayden Kilmer had eight points, five rebounds and two steals against the Capital City Cavaliers.
(Democrat photo/Evan Holmes)
Gavin Porter had four points and three rebounds in the Pintos' loss to Capital City in the California Pintos.
(Democrat photo/Evan Holmes)
Chase Trimble soars to the basket as part of a seven point and two rebound outing off the bench against Capital City.
(Democrat photo/Evan Holmes)
Brooks Volkart had a season-high seven assists in California's win over Moberly in the California Tournament on Saturday.
(Democrat photo/Evan Holmes)
Pintos head coach Brad Conway talks to his team during the California Tournament third place game.