After a win over the Castaic Coyotes on Friday night, the Centurions’ offense was clicking on all cylinders as senior Braydon Harmon led Saugus in scoring with 32 points en route to a 78-59 victory over Canyon.
“We always come in with a defensive mindset, and I think we had a great start compared to some of our other starts where we started slow,” said Saugus head coach Alfredo Manzano. “Isaac Yuhico still scored a bunch of points, but if he’s going to score 40 and we get the win, it is what it is.”
Despite the 19-point loss, Canyon guard Yuhico kept his Cowboys (13-10, 2-6) within range as the senior tallied 41 points.
Manzano added after the game that Yuhico is a great player that’s difficult to stop, but as long as his defense was physical with him, it gave the Centurions (15-8, 6-2) a chance.
“The game plan wasn’t to give him 41 points,” he said jokingly. “At the same time, we don’t want the other guys to get going, especially their shooters. So, we did a good job on all that.”
Canyon head coach Ali Monfared said that Yuhico did all he could to try to help his team get the win and that he’s proud of his senior’s efforts.
“When teams are tripling and double teaming him, obviously there’s guys that are going to be open but there’s a level of a competitor in him, where when the game got to where it got to, he’s not going to just give up,” Monfared said. “Playoff games, league games. No matter what the game is, he’s going to compete. He’s going to compete at a high level.”
After the first quarter, the Centurions led the Cowboys, 17-12, as Yuhico scored a majority of the points for Canyon. But in the second quarter, the Saugus offense exploded with a 26-13 scoring run that opened the game for Manzano’s team.
Manzano credited Harmon with having a huge night offensively and added that his game can complete the rest of the offense.
“Braydon is just a total team guy,” he said. “He’s just going to do all the dirty work. He’s going to guard the best player. I know he got into foul trouble a little bit. But whatever we tell him to do, he’s going to do it. I mean, some of these points are offensive rebounds and just getting in transition.”
With the win, the Centurions are 6-2 in Foothill League play and second in the standings and a shot at first place is within their grasp.
The Centurions play on Friday against the Valencia Vikings at 6:30 p.m., a team Saugus already beat in the first half of the season but it could easily move the standings if they lost.
Manzano said the Centurions are going to look at the high-level matchup as just “another game” as the team looks to finish the season strong.
“It’s just a game. You know, we try to teach them that, ‘Hey, there’s bigger things in life,’” Manzano said. “We tell them to ‘enjoy the moment,’ so that’s how we’re going to go in and give it our best shot.”
The loss set the Cowboys back to 2-6 in league play with a chance to bounce back against the West Ranch Wildcats.
Despite the Cowboys defeating the Wildcats earlier in the season, Monfared is looking for his team just to limit their mistakes and find their rhythm.
“We’re gonna just treat this as a brand new game,” Monfared said. “We know their best players and what they try to do in their tendency. So, we’ll watch some of our films, and we’ll have two more days of practice. I really just look forward to seeing us play a consistent game, even against West Ranch.”
The Cowboys play the Wildcats at West Ranch High School with tip-off scheduled for 6:30 p.m.
After Tuesday night’s games, here are scores from around the Foothill League:
Hart 63, Valencia 53: The Hart Hawks (15-8, 5-3) are winners of four of their last five league games after defeating the Valencia Vikings (12-11, 4-3) at home.
After beginning the Foothill League season 1-2, the Hawks have won four of their last five and hold fourth place in the standings.
The Hawks pick up league action Tuesday against the Golden Valley Grizzlies while the Vikings play Friday against Saugus with tip-off at 6:30 p.m.
West Ranch 80, Castaic 44: The Wildcats (7-14, 4-4) picked up the home win over the Coyotes (4-15, 0-8).
The Coyotes will look to bounce back Friday at home against the Golden Valley Grizzlies as the Wildcats host the Cowboys at West Ranch High School.
Both games tip off at 6:30 p.m.
Photos below from the Centurion’s win over Canyon:
