Gallery • 9 Photos

Annaleigha Hernandez

Devin Torrez rises to knock down a three.

Colton, CA—The Yellowjackets boys’ basketball team, losers of four straight, had their first rematch of the season last night against the 7-13 San Gorgonio Spartans. Last time they faced San Gorgonio on December 16, the Spartans crushed them 70-25. 

While the result was the same, the Yellowjackets put up a better fight, only losing this game 49-31.

Junior point guard Devin Torrez led the Yellowjackets with a team high 17 points. He added three rebounds, two assists, and two steals to the box score as his play continues to be a bright spot on the season.

“We’ve gotten a lot better since the beginning,” said Torrez. “I’m just trying to produce for my team, get my teammates easy buckets.”

That was certainly what happened in the first quarter as the Yellowjackets jumped out to an early 7-4 lead, capped off by an exciting drive and dish by Torrez to center Angel Losoya.

San Gorgonio, led by their point guards Adorian Cherry (12 points) and Jaylen Carmichael (4 points, 2 assists) and the sharp shooting of senior Sergio Silvestre (9 points on 3-7 from the 3-point line) came back to build a three point lead going into the second quarter.

Then their defense held the Yellowjackets to only two points in the second quarter as they expanded their lead to 21-11 at halftime.

Colton came out strong again at the start of the third quarter, but struggled to find good looks against the Spartan defense. The Yellowjackets fought hard the rest of the game, but San Gorgonio kept extending their lead until the final buzzer.

Center Angel Losoya, who had a strong showing with three points and four rebounds as well as a strong defensive presence, had a sober response to the loss.

“Tough game,” Losoya said. “Last game was a blowout, but we did much better this time. I feel like everybody did what they could. It just wasn’t our night tonight.”

Head coach Kendrick Ayres sees the bigger picture. “I see a lot of growth from the team,” he said. “I think they handle situations a lot better than they did. That’s what I told them after the game—that’s the thing about this season, just getting better, day after day, week after week, game after game. This is the first team we’ve played twice, so we can see the growth between games.”

With this loss, Colton drops to 0-3 in Skyline League play and 2-8 overall on the season. They have three games remaining on their schedule, including two at home next week against Fontana on Tuesday and Carter High on Thursday in a Senior Night matchup.