SLO County basketball teams kick off the postseason. Here’s who advanced
The postseason for San Luis Obispo County high school basketball teams got underway Tuesday and Wednesday with a full slate of games.
On the boys side on Wednesday, Mission Prep, Templeton, Nipomo and Arroyo Grande all moved on to the next round of the CIF Central Section playoffs.
On the girls side on Tuesday, local teams had a tough night. Morro Bay, Arroyo Grande, Nipomo, Mission Prep and San Luis Obispo all fell in their first-round matchups.
SLO County boys basketball results
Mission Prep (21-8, 12-2) jumped out to an early lead and never looked back against Bullard, coming away with a 66-50 victory in their first round game at home..
“We did a good job breaking the press in the first half and got some open looks on a couple of early threes and got a couple of early layups,” Head Coach Terrence Harris said. “It really settled our team down. Defense was good too. ... We did a good job keeping them out of the paint as much as we could.”
The Royals took a 31-20 advantage into halftime, and Bullard didn’t come within single digits after the break despite making a last-ditch effort in the fourth quarter to cut into the lead.
Senior wing Jamar Howard responded to the Knights’ comeback with aggressive play on both ends. He got to the rim at will and threw down a two-handed dunk to put the Knights away. Howard finished with 32 in the contest.
“I just saw that we were falling asleep kinda. ... We were up by like 20 at this point, in the fourth quarter. ... You’re ready to go to state, so we just kind of fell asleep. I knew that I just kind of had to be everywhere to seal the game.”
Due to the new state playoffs bid system, the top eight teams in Division 1 make state. With their win tonight, the Royals guaranteed their spot.
“We at least have four more weeks ahead of us, so that’s always good. I’m a senior, so as much high school basketball as possible is the best,” Howard said.
“He is a great player and is more than a scorer,” Harris said of Howard’s game. “He’s a good facilitator, and he’s doing a good job of being aggressive, but also hitting his teammates and given them some looks to keep them engaged in the game.”
The Royals now move on to to round two of the playoffs. Next, the team will travel to No. 1 seed Clovis West on Friday, Feb. 17.
Here’s a look at other SLO County scores:
Porterville 62, San Luis Obispo 48
No. 13 San Luis Obispo (21-9) lost on the road to No. 4 Porterville, 62-48.
“I’m really proud of the effort and hard work our kids put forth this year to win 21 games and win Ocean League,” said SLO Coach Jeff Brandow.
Porterville rode to victory by repeatedly getting to the free-throw line, and held a 27-6 foul differential over the Tigers, Brandow said.
Arroyo Grande 70, Roosevelt 51
Noah Morris led the Eagles with 18 points and Adam Silmon added 14 points as the Eagles (18-9) advanced.
George Keskinov added 12 points for Arroyo Grande.
Arroyo Grande moves on to face No. 7 seed Liberty of Bakersfield in the Division 2 quarterfinals on Friday at 6 p.m. at home.
Templeton 85, Chavez 43
No. 12 Templeton (18-11) dominated Chavez 85-43 and will meet No. 5 Nipomo (18-11) on Friday after the Titans beat Fresno Christian 82-72. Nipomo will host the second-round matchup of Division 4 SLO County teams in a 6 p.m. start. Lucca Hart tallied 29 points, 11 assists and 9 rebounds in the Titans’ first-round win.
Independence 88, Atascadero 53
The Greyhounds (12-18) fell 58-53 to Independence on the road as the No. 15 seed in Division 3.
SLO County girls basketball results
Lemoore 50, Morro Bay 43
The Pirates (11-17) were led by Fiona Durham, who tallied 14 points and 6 rebounds, and Tailer Morrison, who added 12 points and 10 rebounds.
Morrison also had three blocks in the 50-43 first-round loss to Lemoore.
San Joaquin Memorial 89, Nipomo 36
Makennah Simonson and Chloe Wells each had 8 points for Nipomo (18-9) in Nipomo’s first-round Division 1 matchup with San Joaquin Memorial, but the Titans were badly overmatched
San Joaquin Memorial moves on to face St. Joseph of Santa Maria.
“It was definitely a tough matchup but they and St. Joseph will be a good game for sure,” Simonson said. “We can definitely say we left it all out on the court.”
Caruthers 68, Arroyo Grande 47
The No. 9 Eagles (17-12) fell on the road to Caruthers, 68-47 in a matchup of Division 1 foes.
Sierra Pacific 70, Mission Prep 50
Mission Prep (11-16) fell 70-50 to Sierra Pacific in Division 2.
Fresno 29, San Luis Obispo 26
Second-place Ocean League finisher San Luis Obispo lost to Fresno Christian 29-26 in Division 3.
This story was originally published February 15, 2023 at 10:24 PM.