Pierce boys hold off Redskins in late game

Strong defense and very few turnovers helped the Pierce High boys basketball team turn back host Colusa, 59-53, in a Sacramento Valley League contest Friday night.

"We played pretty good defense," Bears coach Scott Burnum said, "pretty solid defense."

Pierce (12-3, 3-0) allowed the Redskins (5-10, 0-3) just one bucket in the third quarter. That defensive stand helped the Bears open a 42-30 lead entering the fourth quarter. They led 28-23 at halftime.

Defense was only part of the story.

The Bears also took good care of the ball, turning it over just once in the first half and once in the second half. Colusa turned the ball over 13 times, including nine times in the first half.

"It's pure fundamentals," Pierce guard Michael Barber said. "It's all coach's practices. He teaches us to take care of the ball, don't turn the ball over."

Still, Colusa cut into the Bears' 12-point lead down the stretch.

Two 3-pointers by Matt Vedo and one by Nico Valencia helped pull the Redskins to pull within nine, 50-41, with just under five minutes remaining in the game.

Then, a five-point run by Colusa that featured baskets by Vedo and Jesus Ramirez helped inch the Redskins to within seven, 54-47, with 2:53 remaining. A charity toss by Joey Mahorney made it 54-48 with 2:01 left.

That was as close as the Redskins would come, however, as the Bears hit five free throws to help ice the game. "I was proud of the way we came back in the fourth quarter," Colusa coach Tom Vedo said. "They are a pretty good team. I thought our kids played real well."

Barber finished with 16 points for Pierce to lead all scorers. He also grabbed five rebounds. Jose Vera added 11 points. Anthony Tapia led the Bears with 11 rebounds. Cody McCullough had four assists.

Matt Vedo scored 15 points to lead the Redskins and Valencia added 10. Mahorney grabbed a game-high 15 rebounds.

"If we had just made some of our shots, we would have run away with the game," Burnum lamented. "We had some good looks, but they just didn't go down."

Pierce shot a dismal 21-for-61 from the field and 10-for-20 from the free-throw line. Colusa wasn't much better, as the Redskins hit just 17-of-53 shots from the field and 14-of-27 from the line.

"I was pleased with the play of our big men," coach Vedo said of Jeff Phillips and Ramirez. Besides nine points, Ramirez also grabbed seven rebounds and had three assists before fouling out with 2:38 left in the game. Phillips had 10 rebounds.

Contact Appeal-Democrat sports reporter Richard Myers at 749-4714 or rmyers@appealdemocrat.com.