SOLEDAD — Soledad High sophomore Pedro Morales Jr. squeezed out every ounce of the comeback juice possible during Monday night’s must-win league game against St. Francis.
The young Aztecs standout guard scored 17 of his 19 points in the second half but the hard valiant effort wasn’t enough in a 60-54 loss to the Sharks in Pacific Coast Athletic League Cypress Division action.
“[Morales Jr.] was really effective for us in the second half and his continued growth after his sophomore year and the next couple of years, we’re excited to see how far he takes it,” Soledad head coach Nick Twitchell said.
Seniors Pablo Morales IV and Anakin Tavarez contributed 14 and eight points, respectively. Senior Anthony Medina added five and freshman Jeranimo Morales chipped in three points.
“We had guys make plays on this end,” Twitchell said. “Nash [Horton] was incredible in the second half for [St. Francis] on their end. Their kids just made a couple more plays at the end.”
Senior Nash Horton recorded his 14th double-double this season with 17 points and 12 rebounds along with four assists and a pair of steals for St. Francis.
“We didn’t have our best offensive night, but I will say the one thing this team does really well is we fight till the very end,” Horton said. “It was a really fun game today. The close ones are always a different kind of fun, especially with their crowd being all loud.”
Teammate junior Jacob Jimenez had a solid night below the rim with 16 points and eight rebounds.
Senior Jesse Navarro drained four 3-pointers for 12 points, and sophomore Isaiah Villalobos had nine points.
Soledad (11-10) dropped to 7-2 in league play. The Sharks (18-3) remain undefeated with a 9-0 record in Cypress Division play, and are currently in the driver’s seat with three games remaining in the regular season.
“By no means it’s over,” Gomez said.
St. Francis hosts Gonzales (6-10, 3-5) on Wednesday and plays at Greenfield (10-10, 4-5) on Friday. Both games are slated to tip off at 7pm.
“Our faith is in our hands now. We just got to win two out of the last three,” Gomez said.
The Sharks made 11 shots from beyond the arch. They hit a barrage of shots from long range in the fourth quarter, including a pair from Horton and Navarro, and one by Robert Gomez Jr., which helped build a small cushion against an Aztecs team that came to battle.
St. Francis went on a 7-0 run to begin the second quarter. Navaro hit one of his four 3-pointers and Horton was fouled on a halfcourt shot attempt just before halftime. He sank two of his three free throw attempts, giving St. Francis a 31-21 lead going into the break.
However, Morales Jr. kept the Aztecs within reach late in the third quarter after scoring eight consecutive points, cutting the deficit at 34-33.
“Pedro loves basketball, lives and breathes basketball,” Soledad head coach Nick Twitchell said. “So, he prepares himself all the time to be ready, and he trusts his skill. In those moments when we needed plays, he stepped up for us.”
Twitchell said earlier this season Moreno Jr. was settling and taking what the defense gave him. The big step forward for Moreno Jr. is he’s dictating where he wants to go and taking control of the team.
Soledad threw another punch to the gut as Morales Jr. picked up one more key bucket, and Calvin DeShazo drove to the hoop for a layup that tied the score at 37-all.
“It’s really cool to compete and have those opportunities,” Twitchell said. “Obviously when you’re on the wrong end of it, it doesn’t feel quite as good. But I thought it was cool to be really challenged. I think [St. Francis] would say that we are probably their biggest challenge.”
The Aztecs already qualified for the Central Coast Section playoffs, but the three remaining games on the schedule could determine seeding and whether or not they can host a postseason game.
Soledad plays at Pacific Collegiate (3-11, 1-7) on Wednesday, followed by a home game against King City (3-14, 2-6) on Friday. Both games are scheduled for a 7pm tipoff.
Twitchell went through an almost identical scenario this past season when the Aztecs lost in similar fashion against Rancho San Juan. He said they stayed in the wrong headspace for a week, resulting in losses against Greenfield and Gonzales, and failure to qualify for the playoffs.
“You don’t want to compound your disappointment,” Twitchell said. “You have this one bad game, and then you let that translate into the next one, then you’re on a losing streak and it can have a negative impact.”
Gomez had a similar message to his players after the game.
“We’re trying not to lose,” he said. “We’re just taking every game not thinking we can only win two out of three. Let’s go out and win every single game, and prepare like any team in our league could beat us.”
