The Cesar Chavez boys’ basketball team traveled to Central High School and defeated the Central Bobcats 72-49, on Tuesday night.

 

The game started out slow but the Bobcats came out strong.

 

Junior point guard Cinsere West hit two 3-pointers back to back to put the Bobcats up 6-4. Junior guard Jailind Bunton had a basket and free throw, helping the Bobcats end the first quarter up 13-10.

 

In the second quarter, it was tied at 19 before the Champions went on a 9-1 run, with five of the Champions' points coming from free throws.

 

The first half ended with the Champions leading 28-20.

 

“After we got that 9-1 run, that’s when we thought ‘All right, c’mon, they’re about to start giving up, so let’s just keep pushing, it’s not over yet,’” said Cesar Chavez freshman point guard TyTy Washington, who scored 23 points in the game.

 

Going into the second half, the Champions went on a 9-0 run to start the third quarter, including a 3-point shot from junior guard Abdi Odowaay, making the score 37-20.

 

“We took momentum in and they took frustration in the locker room,” said Cesar Chavez head coach Gary Lee. “We came back out and continued.”

 

To answer Odowaay’s 3-point shot, junior Greg Butler from Central hit a 3-pointer trying to keep the score as close as possible.

 

The Champions offense dominated in the third quarter outscoring the Bobcats by 22 points to end the third quarter with a  54-32 lead.

 

Throughout the game, the Champions defense continued to put pressure on the Bobcats, forcing turnovers. The Bobcats kept allowing the Champions to get defensive rebounds, never giving the Bobcats a second chance.

 

In the fourth quarter, the Champions continued with their momentum putting up 18 more points.

 

Freshman guard Domonique Newsome from Central tried to keep the Bobcats’ chances alive hitting two 3-pointers within a minute to make the score 68-44 with Cesar Chavez in the lead.

 

Washington scored 11 of the 18 points in the fourth quarter, with help from freshman guard Ricardo Sarmiento and sophomore guard Tyraill Carrethers.

 

“I was really happy with everybody’s focus,” Lee said. “TyTy maybe missed a few shots to start the game, but he got to the rim several times to finish strong and then he hit some shots. He opened it up for us.”

 

Cesar Chavez’s win over Central improved their overall record to 17-8 and their section record to 9-0.

 

Central's overall record is now 13-9 and 6-2 in section.

 

“We knew the whole time coming into this game that if we let those guys get up and down the court, it was going to get away from us,” said Central assistant coach Brendan Mann. “We started rushing shots and taking bad shots, and there were no second chances.”

 

Central will travel to Mesa High School in hopes of improving their record for the upcoming playoffs.

 

Cesar Chavez will host South Mountain High School on Thursday with their perfect league record at stake.