Anchorpoint managed to take away Anzar’s big man early, but the
host Hawks relied on their outside shooting and took the game away
from the Warriors Tuesday in San Juan Bautista.
San Juan Bautista
Anchorpoint managed to take away Anzar’s big man early, but the host Hawks relied on their outside shooting and took the game away from the Warriors Tuesday in San Juan Bautista.
Anzar center Erik Olson and Steve Mockabee each had a double-double and led the Hawks to a 61-49 win over visiting Anchorpoint Christian in non-league action.
Olson had 19 points and 13 rebounds to lead all scorers on the night and added seven blocks, while Mockabee had 12 points and 10 rebounds to go along with six assists and six steals.
Anchorpoint’s Adrian Rodriguez pocketed 12 points to lead the Warriors, who had difficulty keeping pace with Anzar in the second half.
Jon Wylie contributed 11 points for the Warriors, and Colton Minyard had 10 points.
“We started slow … but we finally got things going in the second half,” Anzar coach Ed Cecena said. “We started knocking down some outside shots and I think that was the key for us tonight.”
Anchorpoint, who couldn’t match the height of the 6-foot-5 Olson, was constantly double- and even triple-teaming the Anzar center every time he touched the ball in the paint.
That defensive strategy forced the Hawks to move outside, where they hit five treys on the night.
“We knew it from last year,” Anchorpoint coach K.C. Adams said of Olson. “He can almost dunk on everybody … We just didn’t play to our potential. We just finished football. I told the kids, ‘Give it a month and we’ll be all right.'”
Adams said the difference Tuesday was size and experience, and not having a gymnasium puts a damper on trying to mimic gametime situations.
“They moved the ball and we turned it over at some bad times,” Adams said. “We’re trying. We’re getting there. We’re not bad for a second-year program.”
Anchorpoint committed 24 turnovers – 12 in each half – leading to a deficit that grew greater by the quarter.
After the Hawks started the game 0 of 3 from the field, they turned it on by going on a 12-2 run midway through the first, and took a 17-12 first-quarter lead.
Trailing 32-25 at the half, the Warriors could not string enough points together. Anzar, meanwhile, went on a 10-0 run in the fourth quarter to put the game out of reach.
“We drove the ball more and it seemed to open it up a little more once we started drawing defenders,” Cecena said.
Team 1 2 3 4 F
Anzar 17 15 12 17 61
Anchor 12 13 8 16 49
