Following a season-opening win at home over Antelope Valley, the Cowboys hosted the Buena Park Coyotes in search of back-to-back wins to open the year.
The Cowboys defeated the Coyotes, 62-34, with seven different Cowboys all scoring in the win.
After the game, Canyon head coach Ali Monfared spoke on his team’s performance and win but emphasized there is still work left to be done.
“We’re just trying to get better every day. The kids are playing hard. In my mind, we have a lot to work on and get better with, but that’s to be expected with a younger group,” he said. “We did what we needed to do tonight … but realistically, we know that competition is going to continue to improve, and the league is going to be very difficult, so we’re just trying to continue to be more consistent on defense.”
While the defensive end of the ball is an area of the game Monfared wants to see get better as the season continues, offense was an area he didn’thave much to worry about.
Senior guard Isaac Yuhico led all Cowboys (2-0) in scoring with 22 points, his second straight 20-point plus game to begin the season.
And although his offense can be a sight to see, the defense Yuhico displayed in the win was an effort Monfared loves to see as a coach.
In the first quarter, Yuhico transitioned from offense to defense he tipped a pass from the Coyotes (0-2) and stole the ball and took it back for an attempt to layup on the basket.
“Isaac’s a do it all played,” Monfared said. “He can score all three levels. I’m pretty surprised that he doesn’t have any college interests so far because he’s a wizard out there, and he’s leading this team really, really, really well. And he does everything I ask.”
Following the first half, the Cowboys led the Coyotes 31-23, with 20 of those points coming from the Yuhico brothers.
Jordan Yuhico, Isaac’s freshman brother, made his debut in the season opening win over Antelope Valley. And on Wednesday night, he started the game and scored eight points, all coming in the first half.
“There haven’t been many freshmen on varsity at Canyon in history, let alone recently,” Monfared said. “So, for the fact for him to be getting good minutes and starting, he’s a player who has worked on his game for several years.”
With a foundation of returning players from last season’s championship winning season like Isaac and young players like Jordan and Chris Humes, who Monfared said is another freshman to watch this season, the Cowboys are gearing up for a push to be successful in the early start to the year.
And the scheduling that Monfared put together is all going to plan, the Cowboys hit the road today and play against Moorpark High, an environment that he believes can replicate the same crowd that the Foothill League rivalry games cause.
“It’s going to be a good test for us, Moorpark is a good school, they’re going to have a good crowd, it’ll be a good road game for us to go play in front of people,” he said. “So, that’s going to be one of our focuses is not focusing on the crowd but really making sure that we’re not getting distracted by anything that we don’t talk about at practice and not letting our mind wander.”
The Cowboys’ game against the Musketeers was set to tip off Thursday at 6:30 p.m. at Moorpark High School.
