WATSONVILLE — Christian Quintero scored a game-high 24 points, and Pajaro Valley won by 17.
Still, the Grizzlies felt like they left plenty of points on the court by missing some wide open looks they normally make.
“We should’ve won by more,” said Quintero, the Grizzlies’ star 6-foot-1 junior guard, “but a win is a win.”
As the old saying goes: survive and advance.
No. 10 Pajaro Valley eliminated unseeded Greenfield from the Central Coast Section Division III playoffs on Friday night with a wire-to-wire 58-41 win despite shooting just 32 percent from the field.
The visiting Bruins (15-10) also shot 32 percent from the field, but the Grizzlies’ (16-9) hounding defense limited them to fewer shots. Greenfield had only 49 looks at the hoop — most of them wild contested drives to the rim — to Pajaro Valley’s 70.
Pajaro Valley, playing in its first-ever home playoff game, recorded 15 steals, including three on consecutive possessions during a game-sealing, 12-0 run near the end of the third quarter that produced a loud roar from the “Grizzly Den” in the stands.
“Our defense picked it up,” said Pajaro Valley junior guard Brian Chavez. “We got it together, and we started scoring.”
Pajaro Valley also made up for its off shooting night by dominating the glass. It outrebounded the Bruins 47-25, and pulled down 15 offensive boards in the second half.
The Grizzlies, runners-up in the Pacific Coast Athletic League Cypress division, will need more than just their defense and rebounding to show up in the next round.
They travel to No. 7 Mills tonight at 7 p.m.
The Vikings (11-13) finished tied for fourth in the powerful Peninsula Athletic League’s South division, which produced seven playoff teams this winter.
Among the things to correct in the hours leading up to the matchup: taking better shots.
Pajaro Valley was 3-of-23 from beyond the arc.
“We shot a lot of 3s…we didn’t make them, but we kept shooting them off of rebounds,” said Quintero, who also had a team-high nine rebounds and five steals. “We should’ve just calmed down and let it play. We should fix that next game.”
Chavez had 11 points, five rebounds, four assists and a pair of steals, and 6-foot-2 senior center Carlos Rodriguez chimed in with eight points, nine rebounds, four assists and three blocks.
Eight players scored for Pajaro Valley.
Greenfield coach Adrian Trujillo was hoping that wouldn’t be the case.
“We came in prepared to face Quintero. We said, ‘hey, he’s going to get his 30, we have to defend everyone else,’” Trujillo said.
The Bruins squeaked into the playoffs for the first time since the 2012-13 season after taking fourth in the PCAL Santa Lucia division, and they gave Pajaro Valley all it could handle through two-and-a-half quarters.
Greenfield tied the game at 16-all early in the second quarter, and trimmed a 10-point halftime lead down to three before the Grizzlies finally found their offensive groove and took off.
Senior Angel Espinosa led the Bruins with 13 points and nine rebounds. Sophomore forward Ernie Martinez chipped in 12 points and four boards. And junior guard Agustin Pantoja finished with eight points and six rebounds.
“We had an amazing season,” Trujillo said. “Just to be here, the third team in our’s history to get to the playoffs. Kids came in here and played hard. I can’t take anything away from either team.”
