Nyssa boys get first win
Martinez led Nyssa with 17 points in 76-46 win
Friday, December 14, 2007 10:34 AM PST
| |
| Ray Rodriguez | Argus Observer
Nyssa’s Miguel Trinidad (middle) looks for an open teammate while Mac-Hi’s Victor Meza (22) and Jose Corona look on during the second half of their non-league boys basketball game Thursday in Nyssa. Nyssa won the game 76-46. |
Bt Ray Rodriguez
Argus Observer
Nyssa — Nyssa boys head coach Gabe Fuentes was just happy his team was finally able to get its first win under its belt.
Now the weight of the world is off their shoulders.
Jesse Martinez rattled off 17 points and Eric Jensen scored 16 points to lead the Bulldogs to a convincing 76-46 drubbing of Mac-Hi in non-league boys basketball action Thursday in Nyssa.
“We knew it would come. I think the guys really felt the pressure,” Fuentes said. “During the third quarter, we all finally looked at each other and were like ‘all right, the monkey’s off our backs, now let’s do this.’ That helped us a lot. It’s nice to get that first win.”
On a night where everything just fell into place, Nyssa got scoring on the fast break, inside, mid-range and had 11 different players score points.
They even connected on 17-of-21 from the charity stripe and got a spark from junior varsity standout Daniel Thornley, who scored five points.
“We all played together as a team,” Nyssa senior Josh DeAnda said. “The whole team contributed to winning the first game of the season. I think this win gives us a lot of confidence, especially going into this weekend and the rest of the season.”
A season-changing performance indeed for the team of seven sophomores, three juniors and two seniors.
“We felt a lot of pressure because the last couple of years we have been winning,” DeAnda said. “We hear it around town, we hear it here in school and you get tired of it. You want to win for the town and the school, but then again you just want to win for yourself and your team. To finally get it off our backs is great, so hopefully we can continue.”
Both teams battled through a 15-13 slugfest after the first quarter, then Nyssa flipped the switch with a 26-16 second quarter spurt and led 41-29 at the break.
The run continued in the third quarter as the Bulldogs outscored the Pioneers 21-11 in the frame and were comfortably ahead 62-40 heading into the final eight minutes.
In the third, Seth Glenn scored eight of his 14 points and Martinez added six points.
“He was sitting down low in the post-up position and he finally realized that’s where he’s going to make his money, down on the blocks,” Fuentes said of Martinez.
Nyssa finished off the game with a 14-6 run in the final quarter and with 4 seconds remaining in the contest, Jeremiah Leos entered action and was greeted with a standing ovation.
Nyssa (1-5 overall) hosts the Nyssa basketball tournament starting at 7:30 p.m. tonight against Nampa Christian and continues action Saturday.
