PHOTOS: Godinez holds off Segerstrom’s comeback for victory in league opener

Lucas Andaluz of Godinez drives down the court, guarded by Heber Quero of Segerstrom. (Action photos courtesy Mark Bausman, For OC Sports Zone).

Godinez High School’s boys basketball team held off a fourth quarter comeback by Segerstrom to capture a 63-56 victory over the visiting Jaguars Wednesday night in the Golden West League opener.

Godinez (13-6, 1-0) led by as many as 17 points in the third quarter but Segerstrom (4-13, 0-1) converted turnovers off the press into baskets to cut the lead to three points going into the final quarter.

The Grizzlies were able to regain control and finished strong for the win. Godinez led 36-26 at halftime.

“I was talking to the Segerstrom coach (Eddie Andrade) before the game and I think his record is super-deceiving, I’ve seen them play twice and they’ve lost so many games by really short amounts and they graduated such a big senior class last year and for these kids right at the end, it’s a little struggle for them,” said Godinez Coach Robert Morgan.

“They hit a lot of big shots, they’re a really competitive team and whenever we play a rivalry, it doesn’t matter our records, it’s always going to be close. They’re such a good competitive team. It’s such a great rivalry and I hope it continues forever even with the new conferences we’re doing.”

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Godinez was led by Adrian Gonzalez, who scored 20 points; Israel Moreno, who had 17 points and Jaiden Torres, who had 15 points.

Gonzalez had eight points in the final quarter to help lift the Grizzlies.

“He (Gonzalez) had a big game at the end and Israel Moreno definitely in the beginning, he held us in there,” Morgan said. “And we were pleased with Jaiden Torres, our sophomore, who continues to handle so many things, he’s so versatile.”

Gilbert Vargas led Segerstrom with 14 points. Heber Quero and Issac Camerana had 11 points each for the Jaguars. Camerana had eight points and two 3-pointers in the third quarter to help the Jaguars get back into the game.

“I thought we played hard tonight,” said Andrade, the Segerstrom coach. “They built a comfortable lead in the third and we were able to come back from that and put ourselves in position to take the lead but just fell short. Godinez is a really good team, tough and can shoot the ball.”

Godinez players were excited to get the victory in the league opener.

“They’re our rival and we obviously want to perform at a high level,” said Gonzalez. “I think we under-performed a bit but overall we got the win and we got by and we really came through. We collected ourselves (in the fourth quarter) by slowing down the pace and inspiring each other to play better for each other as a team.”

“We were talking about in the locker-room, like ‘we got to beat this team,'” added Moreno, who was awarded the game ball for his effort. “It’s the first game of league, we started off strong, their defense was leaving us open, so that’s why we were able to hit a couple shots from the outside. That’s what gave us the lead in the first quarter.

“It’s really important for me and our whole team because they’re our rivals. When we play against each other, the crowd is loud, the parents are loud, the atmosphere is loud, but we’re happy we got the win, it’s important to us.”

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—Tim Burt, OC Sports Zone; timburt@ocsportszone.com