RICHMOND, CA - The host Salesian Pride boys basketball team hosted Pinole Valley and took care of business in their 79-29 victory on Thursday night.
The Pride jumped out to a 14-3 lead at the end of the first quarter, thanks to a six-point quarter by senior forward Cameron Morgan, who finished with eight points on the night along with great defense, getting three steals and two blocks on the night.
The Pride defense was working all night with 22 steals as a team and seven blocks. The second quarter was where junior guard James Akinjo had himself a quarter, putting up 10 points, which would be his total for the night. The big quarter from the Salesian star got the momentum rolling to give the Pride a 46-12 lead at the half.
The second half started with more of the same this time, coming from another junior guard in Brandon Betson, who put up 8 of his 14 points in the quarter to push the Pride to a 61-29 lead at the end of the third quarter.
The fourth quarter is when freshman guard Shane Bell put up a 15-point quarter to give himself a 17-point game and lead all scorers.
“I think our freshmen in general played really well, and obviously Shane (Bell) shot very well," said Salesian coach Bill Mellis. "Shane can really shoot it, and he gets hot at times. He's kind of a streaky shooter, but I think Shane is going to have a very good career.”
The Spartans got a big performance from junior guard Jorge Garcia, who had 15 points off of five made three-pointers.
“He has to have more confidence in his shot," said Pinole Valley coach Jeremiah Fisher. "He needs to trust himself and we need to start to move without the basketball.”
“I feel we have a team that when working together we can go far,” Bell said.
“It's easy to get all excited after a big win, but we need to keep it in perspective, and we have a lot to work on," Mellis said. "With the tough schedule we have this year, I think they have to have the mindset of keeping things in perspective and working hard every day to improve.”
