BURROUGHS HIGH — The Burroughs High boys’ basketball team was subjected to a steady diet of three-point attempts in the early going of its opening playoff game.
Vista del Lago, from Moreno Valley, came out of the gate of its CIF Southern Section Division IIAA contest and began chucking long-range shots against the Indians.
Some of the offerings were five to 10 feet behind the arc and would have been three-pointers in the college game.
Luckily for Burroughs, the Ravens couldn’t convert many of their long-distance offerings, as the Indians used a second-half rally to win, 58-48, at Burroughs.
Indians Coach Art Sullivan wasn’t surprised at the pace Vista del Lago came out with its shooting.
“I saw tape of them and I was pretty amazed at the amount of three-pointers this team shoots.” Sullivan said. “We knew they love to set up outside and shoot the ball. But some of those attempts were way behind the three-point line.”
Sullivan said the Indians (17-10) got a little caught up in trying to match the Ravens’ hectic pace in the early going.
“We were just not waiting and taking the best shots for us, especially in the first quarter,” said Sullivan, whose team finished tied for second in the Pacific League. “We were rushing our shots way too much.”
Vista del Lago (10-15) — an at-large team from the Inland Valley League — hit three three-pointers in the first quarter to take an 11-7 lead. That was despite the fact the team converted just four of 17 from the floor.
Two of those three-pointers came from the Ravens leading scorer, Juan Martinez. Martinez had 10 points in the first half.
The Indians caught a break, however, when Martinez picked up his third foul with 4:23 left in the second quarter, sending him to the bench.
“That helped us a lot when he picked up that third foul,” Sullivan said. “They had to start the second half with him on the bench.”
With Martinez cooling his jets, the Indians made a move in the second quarter, getting to within two points of the lead, 24-22.
The second-quarter push was orchestrated by Burroughs senior Chris Morris, who scored eight of his team-high 19 points in the stanza. He also had five steals.
The Ravens also slowed their three-point attempts in the second quarter, as they hit just one.
Martinez ended with a game-high 21 points, including five three-pointers.
Burroughs stepped up the pace in the third quarter to finally take a 32-30 lead on a three-pointer by Morris with 4:19 remaining.
Vista del Lago wasn’t able to keep pace, as the Indians outscored their opponent, 20-11, in the third quarter to take a seven point lead.
The fourth quarter was led by the Indians Cameron Blocker, who poured in eight points in the stanza. He ended with 16 points. .
The Ravens were hampered by 26 turnovers.
