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The Valencia varsity basketball team at Stanford team camp earlier this summer. (Photo courtesy of Valencia Basketball)

Boys Basketball: Valencia Takes Saugus’ Best Shot And Emerges Unscathed

Perhaps the most exciting first half of the Foothill League season gave way to a grind-it-out second half, and the Valencia Vikings proved once again why they remain the class of Santa Clarita high school basketball.

Everything was going right for the Centurions in the early going. They started a perfect 7-for-7 from three point range. Both Nate Perez (game-high 28 points) and Adrian McIntyre (27 points) were cooking and the Centurions raced out to a 20-8 first quarter lead.

Valencia’s poise was evident late in the first quarter, and after weathering the early storm they clawed back and found themselves down only three, 27-24, after the first quarter. Coming back from down 12 early in a tough road environment. How were they able to do it?

“Just trust,” said Vikings head coach Bill Bedgood. “If we [the coaches] were screaming and yelling, then I think they would have given in to that nervous energy, but we were just trying to remain very calm. That was really, like, the first time we’ve trailed at the end of a quarter for the last two [league] seasons.”

McIntyre continued to give the Vikings defense fits in the second quarter, getting inside and finishing at the rim. He had a game-high 22 points in the first half.

“He was damn near beating us by himself in the beginning,” said Coach Bedgood.

The free throw line became a valuable tool for the road team in the second quarter. Every time Saugus would start to gain steam again, Valencia would get back to the line and break their momentum. They had ten made free throws in the first half.

Saugus led 46-44 at halftime thanks to a combined 37 points from Perez and McIntyre. Nate Perez hit five 3 pointers in a stellar first half.

Then, the biggest adjusment of the game for either team proved to be the difference. Instead of running a 1-3-1 defense, Valencia clamped down by playing man in the second half. They limited McIntyre to five points in the second half, and Saugus made just two 3’s (both by Perez).

Valencia’s balance on offense also began to assert itself in the third quarter. A Jake Hlywiak 3 pointer gave the Vikings their first lead of the game, and they never looked back the rest of the way.

Gilbert Camacho (19 points) and Hlywiak (22 points) paced the Vikings attack, and they led by as many as 10 points in the second half. A far cry away from being down 12 in the first half.

After putting up 27 points in the first quarter, Saugus managed just 24 points total in the second half, ultimately falling 77-70.

“It’s exactly what we needed, because that’s more of a playoff environment. It’s not gonna be easy every single night,” said Bedgood. “It’s good to see us play from behind and not lose confidence.

The win was the 12th consecutive victory for the Vikings (20-4, 6-0), who haven’t lost since last decade. Four more wins will give them back-to-back undefeated Foothill League campaigns.

“We’re a very senior heavy team … we can hurt you with a lot of different guys, and there’s a lot of confident players that know how to play.”

KHTS Sports is your place for the 2019 Santa Clarita high school winter sports season and your Santa Clarita Dodgers coverage. Find all the latest news and updates on your hometown schools here as they compete in the Foothill League, Heritage League, Western State Conference and GSAC. If you have any news and notes about our teams and players to share please send them to jp@hometownstation.com, like us on facebook.com/khtssports and follow us @KHTSSports on Twitter.

Boys Basketball: Valencia Takes Saugus’ Best Shot And Emerges Unscathed

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About Justin Powell

Justin moved to the San Fernando Valley from the Inland Empire in 2011 to complete his BA of Communications degree at California State University, Northridge. Just a few months after getting his degree he moved to Valencia and started as an intern at AM-1220 KHTS, and was promoted to Sports Reporter within a year. Though Justin is still relatively new to the Santa Clarita Valley, he is an avid sports fan and passionate about building the sports department at KHTS into a special source for local high school sports.