FRIARS CRUSH WARRIORS 76-36

By Patrick Lujan

The FD Friars beat the St. Paul Warriors for the second time this week, but this time, it was a huge 76-36 onslaught in the IIAAG Boys Basketball League Friday night at the Phoenix Center.

FD beat St. Paul in overtime on Monday at the Warriors home court. Friday was a completely different outcome as the Friars remain unbeaten while the Warriors have dropped their third straight game, unfamiliar territory for a storied program.

“Home crowd Baby!,” FD head coach Jimmy Yi said about the difference between Monday and Friday. “We got to thank all the parents and FRIAR NATION!”

“The biggest difference was just our defense. We didn’t gamble at all and I think our offense was another big factor. We kept moving the ball and all our buckets were easy ones.”

– FD senior Blaise Ada

A 23-3 FD run that spanned into the 2nd quarter did the trick as the Friars ran away from a 6-6 tie to find themselves ahead 29-9 midway through 2nd quarter. The Friars halfcourt press forced a handful of steals and easy fast break points. Meanwhile, St. Paul’s offense struggled to find the basket.

“We knew they play fast and could score fast so our game plan was just to slow them down, put pressure on them and force turnovers,” Ada added.

The Warriors could only muster a slight comeback to 31-20 toward the end of the first half, but that would be it as the Friars ran away from there.

As the lead grew beyond 20 points in the second half, the benches were summoned to get some action.

The biggest roars of the game came late when Johnny Rosario, coming from the deep end of the bench, knocked down a corner three and ended the night’s scoring with an offensive put back that made the FD student body go wild!

“Oh man, it means a ton,” Coach Yi said about Rosario’s big shots. “That was his first game tonight, he had hand surgery in December. The team is so unselfish and supportive all around.”

“I think it’s very cool that we have a great support system and it’s even better because he had just come back from an injury and I’m looking forward to witnessing the process he’s gonna have during the season,” Ada said about Rosario.

Yoshi Sayama led the Friars with 15 points with big man Noah Tenorio Hernandez chipping in 14 points and a host of huge rebounds and blocked shots. Xander Sanchez led St. Paul with 15 points with Raeven Pascual adding nine.

In the JV game, the Friars held off the Warriors 52-47.

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