Golden Valley senior guard Zach Christoffersen leads Grizzlies to victory in league opener, plus scores from around the Foothill League
In the eyes of Golden Valley head coach Scott Barker, winning at West Ranch High School against the Wildcats is a difficult task.
But on Tuesday, his Grizzlies defeated the Wildcats 51-43 on the road and secured a win in the Foothill League opener.
“We’re thrilled to get a win. We haven’t won in this building in many, many, many years and that’s a huge deal,” Barker said. “We certainly have a lot of things we need to work on. It wasn’t our best game offensively, but I thought defensive pressure was really helpful.”
In the first quarter, both teams were cashing in points from three, and the Wildcats (1-4, 0-1) led the Grizzlies (3-4, 1-0) 15-14 going into the second quarter.
But in the second quarter, Golden Valley’s offense began to chip away with the lead as its defense held the Wildcats at bay.
The Grizzlies outscored West Ranch 15-5 and held onto that lead the rest of the way despite an attempt to come back from West Ranch in the fourth quarter that cut Golden Valley’s lead to eight.
Golden Valley senior guard Zach Christoffersen led all Grizzlies in scoring with 14 points as his teammate, junior guard Donovan Webb, scored eight points along with 10 rebounds and seven assists.
“Zach is one of the best athletes in the league, and he is an up-and-down guy,” Barker said. “We’re just happy that he is able to get the shots he needs when he needs to get them.”
Wyatt Printz was third in scoring with 11 points and eight rebounds.
For West Ranch, Govind Sudan and Alessandro Matera combined for 20 points in the loss as both players led the Wildcats in scoring with 10 apiece.
With the win, the Grizzlies open Foothill League play with a win, which Barker said serves as a reminder that there is still work left to be done.
“We’re just happy to get a win in the Foothill League, which is difficult,” he said. “We have a bye on Friday and that’s good because we have a lot of things to work on moving forward.”
The Grizzlies pick up league action on Tuesday at home against Castaic while the Wildcats host the Coyotes on Thursday.
After Tuesday night’s games, here are scores from around the Foothill League:
Hart 76, Canyon 67: The Hawks (2-2, 1-0) began the season with losses to Moorpark and Camarillo, and on Tuesday bounced back with a Foothill League win over their longtime rivals at home.
The Cowboys (8-3, 0-1) record their third loss of the season but are still five games over .500. Senior guard Isaac Yuhico dropped another 30-point-plus performance as he scored 33 points and led all Cowboys in scoring.
The Cowboys will look to rebound on the road at Saugus on Friday as the Hawks travel to Valencia with tip-off scheduled for 6:30 p.m. in both games.
Saugus 65, Castaic 24: The Coyotes (3-3, 0-1) began the first round of Foothill League action with a loss at home to the Saugus Centurions (3-1, 1-0).
The Centurions were led by senior forward Braydon Harmon, who recorded a double-double in the victory with 18 points and 10 rebounds.
Centurions Derek Hsu and Ethan Lozin combined for 30 points with 15 points apiece.
The Centurions host Canyon on Friday for the next round of Foothill League play while the Coyotes host West Ranch with both games scheduled for tip-off at 6:30 p.m.
Photo gallery from the Golden Valley boys’ basketball team win over West Ranch:
