Colton, CA—Fueled by a huge first half, nearly derailed by a dismal third quarter, and re-energized by late game heroics from Isaiah Stuart, the Colton Yellowjackets boys basketball team held off the feisty Valley Christian Lions 58-45 to advance to the CIF Southern Section Division 9 Finals.
“This is their moment,” said head coach Kendrick Ayres, glowing with pride.
With the victory, this is the furthest a Colton basketball team has gone in the CIF playoffs since 1920, when Colton lost to Orange 20-16.
Based on the first half, that outcome did not seem to be in any doubt. Led by Andres Elenes, who scored 10 of his 12 points, Colton jumped on Valley Christian in the first quarter. After having a slight 9-7 edge halfway through the quarter, Colton went on an 11-0 run to take a 20-7 lead.
“They were pretty big,” Elenes said about Valley Christian. “But I know that I’m faster than all of them, so with a quick first step I was able to get past everyone.”
By halftime, the Yellowjackets extended the lead to 19 points, 36-17. The Hubbs crowd was rocking, excited, ready for the next challenge.
But in the second half, Colton looked like a different team. The Lions switched to a zone defense, and the Yellowjackets’ aggressive offense went passive. “We kind of slowed down a little bit,” Coach Ayres said. “With the big lead, it’s easy to take your foot off the gas.”
Behind an incredible performance from Valley Christian’s Robinson Maples, who led all scorers with 27 points—21 in the second half—the Lions fought back. They kept chipping away at the Yellowjacket lead, getting as close as five late in the fourth quarter.
The crowd started getting anxious as the lead continued to shrink and the team kept missing shots.
That was when Isaiah Stuart found his moment. After struggling to score most of the second half, Stuart knocked down a huge three-pointer that extended the lead and stopped Valley Christian’s momentum.
“I was just locked in,” Stuart said after the game. “I felt like my team, the atmosphere, it was just all like really helpful. And my teammates helped build me up to make that shot in that big moment.”
While Elenes and Stuart both had excellent games, the Yellowjackets had a balanced attack. Gonzalo Oropeza finished with 12 points, 2 rebounds and an assist. And Isac Sanchez led the team with 14 points and 4 rebounds.
Colton will face the Pacific High Pirates, who defeated Samueli Academy 62-41. The two teams will play on Friday, Feb. 27 at 7 p.m. The location is still to be determined.
