Warring’s career night leads Sonora past Merced in Columbia basketball final
The Merced High Bears tried to double-team Kahale Warring, Sonora’s strong 6-foot-5 senior.
The plan didn’t work.
Warring wrecked the Merced defense for a career-high 32 points Monday afternoon during the Bears’ 57-35 loss in the third-place game of the Columbia High School Holiday Classic.
“We couldn’t stop the best guy on the court,” Merced coach Hector Nava said. “We tried to eliminate his touches. We even had two men on him. Sometimes, it didn’t look it.”
Merced (9-6) went 1-2 during the three-day tournament, which started Friday at Columbia College’s Oak Pavilion. Sonora, the co-host with Columbia for the event, was beaten Saturday by eventual tournament champion Beyer, while the Bears fell to Summerville in the semifinals.
The Bears trailed 22-13 at halftime against Sonora (7-5), then yielded the first 10 points of the second half. Merced simply couldn’t match up with Warring’s power near the basket.
The Wildcats established control with tight defense, especially during the first half.
Later, a mild Merced rally keyed by Travis Pazin and Brandon Blackwell (nine points apiece) sliced a 21-point deficit to 40-28 early in the fourth period. Warring responded, however, and swelled the lead to 25 in the final seconds.
“We’ll try to concentrate on our strengths, starting with transition offense,” said Nava, whose Bears open Central California Conference play Jan. 9 at home against Buhach Colony. “We can’t be this small and play defense like this.”
Golden Valley 58, El Capitan 49 – El Capitan (7-5) led until the Cougars (6-7) claimed seventh place with a 13-1 blitz to open the second half. Isaac Daniel paced GV with 13 points and Lee McNeill scored 10.
The Gauchos, who won a tournament in Madera last week, featured James Sellers with 13 points and Joshua Stewart with 11. El Capitan will open Western Athletic Conference action Friday at Central Valley.
“It’s easy to go from the pinnacle to rock bottom,” El Capitan coach Christopher Tufts said. “Finishing layups, boxing out and making free throws are things we have to work on this week.”
Escalon 66, Delhi 45 – All-tournament selection Chapman Mello hit six triples en route to 22 points for the Cougars (8-6), who claimed the consolation honor with an easy win. Escalon defeated Golden Valley on Saturday after a first-round loss to Sonora.
Chance Browning tossed in 19 points for Delhi (4-7).
Girls
Golden Valley 51, Pitman 26 in Turlock – Delia Moore scored 17 points as the Cougars (8-3) won the third-place game of the Pitman Holiday Tournament. Moore and Camille Flores (12 points) each were named to the all-tournament team.
This story was originally published December 29, 2014 at 9:27 PM with the headline "Warring’s career night leads Sonora past Merced in Columbia basketball final."