The California JV boys basketball team earned a hard-fought victory Feb. 18 against the Blair Oaks Falcons in one of its final games of the season.
The Pintos led by as many as 20 points in the win, but the Falcons slowly gained ground. At the end, the game was very close and intense. The Pintos held on to win 56-53.
"We played them earlier this year on a Saturday at their place and were pretty competitive for most of the game. I think our guys were ready to get another shot at them," head coach Brandon Kliethermes said.
At the tip, California received the ball and started early on their road to victory with the first score. California's Jaden Trachsel and Kaden Keeran were the first to score during the game. After a few trips up and down the court, the Pintos led 21-9.
During the second quarter, the Pintos continued to extend their lead over Blair Oaks. With a couple of threes and some other great foul points, the Pintos were still ahead at halftime 36-17.
In the third quarter, Adolfo Osio was on a streak with three three-pointers, and Trachsel and Keeran continued racking up points.
At the end of the third quarter, the Pintos still had a comfortable lead at 45-30.
During the fourth quarter, the Falcons came back to tighten the gap to just six points. The Pintos continued to fight hard and play well together as a team, which resulted in a Pinto victory with a final score of 56-53.
"We obviously want to win every night, but our goal as a JV team is to get guys ready to play at the next level," Kliethermes said. "We certainly have some work to do still, but these guys have improved quite a bit over the last few months. These boys are a fun group to coach. It seems like a different guy every night has a big night, but collectively they have improved from day one."