Monterey Times

Men's basketball remains on their road to success with a huge win over Westcliff to take back second place in the Cal Pac.

These two teams know how to make a good show for the fans as both games this season were fun to watch. Just two weeks prior to this game the Warriors and Firebirds battled it out at the USK Sports Complex where the Warriors were able to take it in overtime. The Firebirds were heated up for this rematch and ready to take the win. 

"This was a good bounce back game for us," said head coach Kevin Williamson. "We dropped it two weeks ago and we really wanted it back." 

The first half was dominated by the Firebirds with a 34-20 score at the half. The Firebirds really turned up their defense and limited the Warriors ability to score. 

"We had to prepare a little differently for this second game," said Williamson. "Our defensive coverage was a little different, I had been watching more NBA basketball defensive coverages and visually comparing it versus their sets. I think it helped us a lot versus the first time we played. We were out of position a lot the first game and I thought we covered the ball screens a lot better during this second game."

The Firebirds were able to build a lead that would show to be too big a deficit for the Warriors to come back from. The Warriors were able to go score more consistently in the second half but the damage had already been done and the Firebirds kept the lead. The Firebirds won 73-60 holding the Warriors 14 points lower than their average for this season.

Javier Gallardo had his best game of the season with 17 points and nine rebounds. He also shot an incredible 73% from the field. Maur Tablada, the freshman, also added 17 points. Cesar Meza, Chris Harper, and Jacob Durham all added 10 a piece to make this game a solid team win. 

Up Next:

The Firebirds will take on La Sierra at the USK Sports Complex on Jan. 26 at 5:30 p.m. Live Heads Up will be there so make sure to come out and support! 

Original source can be found here.