NEWARK, CA – Sheldon-Sacramento got off to a quick start Saturday and did not let up, cruising to a 91-70 victory over Army & Navy Academy-Carlsbad in Game 4 of the Prep2Prep Tip-Off Classic at Newark Memorial High School.
A pack of Huskies, led by Loyola Marymount University-bound senior Matt Manning - for baseball - spread the floor and pushed the ball in transition to build a 9-0 lead in the first one minute and fifty-five seconds. Sheldon finished the first quarter with a 26-10 lead.
“We were just really excited to come out and play,” said Manning, who finished with 20 points, two assists, and three rebounds, and was named the game’s most valuable player. “We really just trust each other and know where we are at all times.”
Army-Navy continued to hang around however, rallying to cut the Sheldon lead to seven by halftime. Richard Polanco and Juan Carlos Canahuate had both contributed 11 points by the half, attempting to cut the deficit. The Warriors did not let up, either, starting the second half on an 8-0 run to take a one-point lead.
That lead did not last long, though, with Sheldon regaining momentum and returning to a six-point lead by the end of the third quarter. That momentum carried over to the fourth quarter, with the trio of Devin Greene, Isaiah Brooks, and Drew Cobb forcing turnovers and scoring in transition, pushing the lead the 18 with 3:18 to play. Greene finished with 13, Brooks with 14, and Cobb with 23.
The difference in the teams was shooting, as Sheldon led in total field goal, three-point field goal, and free throw percentage. Three-point percentage held the most significant difference, with Sheldon shooting 40 percent from beyond the arc to Army-Navy’s 23.
Polanco and Canahuate, who were big factors in the first half, finished with 25 and 18 points respectively. Aziz Seck, a 6-foot-7 forward, made a big impact early, but only finished with 13 points and five rebounds after getting into foul trouble and sitting out the remaining quarter and a half.
Sheldon returns to the floor on Monday at Yuba City, taking on the Honkers in a Foundation Game at 8 p.m. Army-Navy meets Rancho Bernardo on Tuesday night as part of the Coast News Tip-Off Classic.
