SANTA ROSA — The Santa Rosa Warriors scored early and often as Ryan Perez scored a game-high 19 points to lead the Warriors to a comfortable 74-60 victory over District 32-3A opponents Lyford on Saturday afternoon.
The Warriors outscored the Bulldogs 20-10 in the first period, 22-12 in the second and 22-14 in third as they collected their fourth consecutive league win.
Despite the 14-point victory, Santa Rosa head coach Johnny Cirpiano said there is still plenty of room for his team to grow.
“I don’t feel we should have had that many turnovers, especially not against the zone because we should be able to get a shot off every position,” said Cipriano. “We are still doing a lot of little things wrong like not boxing out and turning the ball over. Things that I feel shouldn’t be happening at this point in the season. We still have room for improvement but, like I always tell them, it’s up to you guys to do it.
“Other than that, I think we shot well in the first half and I don’t think we did any other things well.”
The Warriors started the game on fire, quickly building up a 10-0 lead that translated into a 42-22 first-half advantage.
Down 64-36 at the end of the third period, the Bulldogs gained some momentum in the fourth quarter and outscored the Warriors 24-10 behind an 11-point offensive burst led by Layne Klostermann, who finished with a game high 25 points. Meanwhile, teammates Chase Hinojosa finished with nine points and Jeremy Jimenez added seven.
For the Warriors, Jay Guerra contributed 12 points and senior AB Lozoya scored 17 points along with three 3-pointers while going 6 of 6 from the free-throw line.
“AB plays hard and he knows what to do because he’s been in our system a long time,” said Cipriano. “He knows exactly what I’m looking for so he’s the general on the court and he’s going to make things happen whether if it’s for himself or someone else.”
The Warriors continue their march to the payoffs on Tuesday with a game against Brownsville Frontier. Meanwhile, the Bulldogs host Monte Alto also on Tuesday.
