Watsonville sophomore Diego Garcia had a team-best 19 points, including five 3-pointers in the Wildcatz’s 67-52 victory over Marina in Pacific Coast Athletic League Mission Division boys basketball action Wednesday evening.
Fellow teammate junior Leon Madec added 15 points and his brother, George, had 11. Senior Max Aceves posted eight points, while senior Nate Aguilar and junior Abraham Martinez each contributed six for Watsonville, which improved to 4-0 in league play this season.
“At the beginning of the second half, we just weren’t playing good,” Leon Madec said. “We weren’t hitting shots. But we started to pick it up in the fourth quarter. I think we felt the pressure of them coming back.”
After scoring 23 points in the opening stanza, the ‘Catz were held to just nine in the second quarter. Yet, they continued to hold on to a 32-17 lead going into halftime.
The Mariners then went on an 8-0 run coming out of the break before they pulled to within four points, cutting the deficit at 40-36 with less than two minutes remaining in the third.
“I don’t know if we were ready for this game, to be honest,” Madec said. “We’ve been winning by blowouts mostly. So, we had to pick it up in the fourth, and we did it.”
Going into Wednesday’s game, Watsonville defeated league foes Hollister, Stevenson and Monte Vista Christian by an average margin of 22 points.
Watsonville head coach Andre Bailey said they continue to work on building consistency and playing the same way each game, throughout the entire game.
“Four quarters of basketball,” Bailey said. “We gave momentum away and we kind of never got it back until the last two minutes…We have to learn how to play and take smart shots. I don’t need a hero. I need a guy to make a play, the right play. It took us a while for it to sink in.”
Garcia—who scored 11 of his 19 points in the third—helped spark an 8-0 run that put the ‘Catz ahead 48-36 going into the fourth quarter. Prior to that, Bailey took a time out to help settle down an offense that had 12 turnovers in the first three periods.
Madec said Bailey was not happy with their defense, as well.
“We weren’t making shots, we weren’t getting ball movement, we weren’t running the plays,” Madec said. “But in the fourth quarter, we came through. We had to come together as a team like we usually do, and we pulled it off.”
Leon Madec transferred to Watsonville from Camarillo High in Southern California, and George Madec arrived via Fresno. Both players made an immediate impression when they became eligible to play.
Bailey said the Madecs have a skill of putting what they do in practice into a game.
“[Leon and George] are really good at kind of reading the situation, reading the game, doing what they do off the court, making it translate to the court,” Bailey said. “It’s a rare skill, but they’re pretty good at it.”
Next up, the ‘Catz on Friday will host a Seaside (0-11, 0-3) squad still in search of its first victory of the season, followed by a trip to Salinas for a showdown at Rancho San Juan (9-5, 3-1) on Jan. 21. Both games are slated for a 7pm tipoff.
Bailey said if they don’t come enthusiastic and ready to compete, each team in the Mission Division is capable of walking off the court victorious. Rancho San Juan is coming off a PCAL Cypress Division title run. Plus they have a majority of their players returning this season.
“[Rancho San Juan is] hungry to keep moving up and moving up,” Bailey said. “They want to be the top dog. We are just trying to compete with last year’s league champion.”
