Hoover comes up short at Selland Arena, but coach sees a bright side
Hoover High boys basketball coach Tezale Archie is proud of his team for many reasons.
He reminded the Patriots on Friday after a 62-44 loss to Bakersfield Christian in the Central Section Division III championship game at Selland Arena.
“I told them the season is not over,” Archie said. “We earned the right to play in the state playoffs. I mean, a lot of tears, but I wanted to let them know we’re not defined by one game, even though it’s the final game of the Central Section championship.”
The California Interscholastic Federation will announce regional seedings for basketball and soccer on Sunday.
The Patriots ended the North Yosemite League as co-champions with Roosevelt.
“We are young,” Archie said. “We do have a lot of players coming back. To go on this run and play some tough teams and play high-caliber basketball all the way to Selland Arena, it’s something to be commended.”
AJ George led Hoover (22-9) with 15 points.
Porterville 65, Arvin 39
Less than two weeks after the tragic deaths of two firefighters in their city, Porterville players wore the heroes’ initials on their warmups. Also, a moment of silence was observed before the D-III girls game.
“What’s going on in Porterville is hard,” the Panthers’ Jazlynne Medrano said. “We just want to make our community proud.”
She led Porterville with 17 points.
It is Porterville’s second section title, according to section historian Bob Barnett. The Panthers’ first crown came in 2003.
East 43, Strathmore 39
Strathmore rallied to within three points late but couldn’t get past the Blade in the D-V girls final.
Jazmine Soto scored a game-high 29 points for the Spartans.
East won its first section title.
This story was originally published February 28, 2020 at 6:56 PM.
