Grand Valley freshman guard Emilio Garcia had a night to remember Friday night inside ‘The Nest’ at Grand Valley High School. Garcia, partaking in his first rivalry matchup against the visiting Coal Ridge Titans at the varsity level, seemingly couldn’t miss from beyond the arc, pouring in a game-high 23 points while hitting seven 3-pointers in a 56-49 win for the Cardinals in 3A Western Slope League action.
Garcia dialed in from deep in the second quarter, hitting four of his seven threes as the Cardinals took a 26-21 lead into the break.
Prior to Garcia’s 12-point second quarter, the Cardinals came out fast against the Titans one night after losing to Delta 62-38 on the road. Grand Valley raced out to a 19-9 lead midway through the second quarter as seniors Angel Garcia and Wade Wiese got going for the Cardinals. Angel Garcia hit a tough putback shot in the lane, whiel Wiese drilled a 3-pointer from the top of the key. Junior Alex Cornejo added a 3-pointer of his own for the Cardinals, and Angel Garcia drilled a triple too, making it 16-7 before Emilio Garcia heated up.
Coal Ridge rallied after trailing by 10 as the Titans went on a 10-0 run to knot the game up at 19-19 as senior Jesus Camunez hit a putback in traffic and stepped outside to hit a 3-pointer, while senior Kevin DiMarco dunked off of a slick feed from senior Payton White, and added a putback in transition.
Grand Valley closed the quarter strong though as Emilio Garcia splashed two late 3-pointers to give the Cardinals a 26-21 lead at the half.
Coming out of the break in the rivalry matchup, Coal Ridge fought back to take a 33-31 lead as DiMarco hit a layup in traffic and senior guard Jan Hernandez added a layup in transition. Things turned for the Titans after that though as DiMarco picked up his third foul on a block attempt against Grand Valley’s Brandon Millius and added a technical foul in process, forcing the standout senior to the bench with four fouls. With DiMarco on the bench, the Titans struggled to produce much offense against Grand Valley’s active, athletic zone defense.
Camunez did his best for the Titans offensively down the stretch, drilling three 3-pointers in the fourth quarter, but Wiese and Emilio Garcia proved to be too tough late in the fourth quarter as the duo combiened for 17 of Grand Valley’s 22 fourth-quarter points, leading the Cardinals to a massive 3A Western Slope League win at home.
In the win, Garcia led the way with 23 points, while Wiese added 15 points, and Angel Garcia chipped in with 12 points.
For Coal Ridge, Camunez led the way with 18 points, hitting five 3-pointers, while Hernandez added 10 points.
GIRLS BASKETBALL
Grand Valley 55, Coal Ridge 38
In a game marred by poor officiating that saw an incredible 48 combined fouls, the Grand Valley Cardinals bounced back from a tough loss Thursday night on the road against Delta to defeat the visiting Coal Ridge Titans Friday night in Parachute, 55-38.
The two teams shot a combined 60 free throws in a game that had very little flow to it due to the absurd number of fouls called in the rivalry matchup. Fortunately for Grand Valley, the Cardinals did more than enough in the first quarter to create some breathing room against the Titans on the night.
Right from the opening tip, senior guard Shaya Chenoweth was locked in for the Cardinals. The speedy senior hit three 3-pointers, a layup for a 3-point play, and split a pair of free throws in the game’s first eight minutes, pushing the Cardinals out to a 20-6 lead after one quarter of action.
Following the entertaining first quarter of action, things ground to a hault as the two teams found themselves locked into a free throw contest. When the two teams weren’t trekking to the free throw line, the action was fast-paced as Grand Valley junior Jordyn Pittman came alive in the second quarter with Chenoweth on the bench in foul trouble. The junior hit three tough layups and a 3-pointer in the second quarter, pushing the Cardianls to a 32-16 lead at the break, despite a strong second quarter from Coal Ridge sophomore Taylor Wiescamp. The sophomore center controlled the boards and added four points in the quarter.
The third quarter was again a free throw contest, but Grand Valley junior forward Loghan Teter came up big for the Cardinals, hitting two 3-pointers and two free throws, while Coal Ridge senior Alyssa Wenzel and junior Lyanna Nevarez hit layups in the quarter, but there really wasn’t an answer for Grand Valley’s shooting down the stretch.
Coal Ridge tried to rally in the fourth quarter, going on a 9-0 run, but the Cardinals prevailed in the end for the league win.
In the win, Chenoweth led the Cardinals with 21 points, while Pittman added 17 points, and Teter chipped in with 13 points.
For the Titans, Wenzel led the way with 12 points, while Wiescamp added 11 points.