Folsom, Calif – Cosumnes River (0-1) bounced back today with a nail-biting 87-84 victory over the Copper Mountain Fighting Cacti (1-0) at Folsom Lake College. It was a great job earning their first win of the season.
Freshman sharp shooter Yaadvir Dhaliwal led the team in scoring with 17 points, shot 50% from the field, and snagged 8 rebounds off the bench. Starting freshman point guard Andre Huddleston had a strong game on both ends with 16 points, 8-for-9 shooting from the free throw line, and solid defense. For the second night in a row, starting freshmen center Dillon Iyawe recorded a double-double with 12 points, 11 rebounds, and 3 blocks. A total of 6 players on this young Hawks squad finished with double-digit points.
First half action was competitive and chippy. Both teams played with fast tempo and aggressive defense. Unfortunately, starters Brandon Gray, Christian Hough, and Iyawe all got into early foul trouble. Reserves Terrell Garner and Dhaliwal, along with others, stepped up in the situation. The game was tight for most of the first half until CMC's Trayvion Jackson got red hot and scored 13 unanswered points. This gave CMC a 47-35 going into the break.
Cosumnes River came out in the second half and fought off the 12-point deficit to take the lead with a fastbreak And-1 lay-up on 3 defenders from Huddleston. From there, the Hawks took as large as a 7-point lead with 3:00 remaining. CRC was able to hold off a last second push by CMC to secure the victory 87-84.
Head Coach Jonathan James mentioned a few thing after the game saying, "We showed a lot of promise this weekend. You never know when your team will click when you are young. They showed me we will be clicking on all cylinders sooner than later."