Senior Alex Grant scored 12 points and grabbed five rebounds, and Senior Carter Williams scored 8 points, tacked on four rebounds and three assists.

West Ranch was able to remain aggressive on the defensive end by only allowing 14 points at halftime and led the Cowboys 25-14 at the end of the second quarter.

“Our defense anchored us down and we held them down to 14 points in the first half so our defense really stepped it up in the first half. So, I thought we played well and we did what we should be doing which is protecting our end of the floor and limit them to one shot on the defensive end,” said West Ranch Coach Ron Manalastas.

Canyon tried to make a comeback, as they were only down eight points at the end of the third quarter.

Going into the final eight minutes, the Cowboys fought their way back, coming within five points at the 4:55 mark of the fourth quarter, trimming the lead to 39-34. However, that would be the closest Canyon would get. The Wildcats extended the lead to 41-33 with four minutes left in the game and pulled away late for the double digit victory.

“I think we pushed the ball well and we did well in transition. We also did not allow Anthony Gallo to get his shots up so, I think we did well defensively. Our defense really carried us tonight,” said Williams.

Coach Manalastas had some positive takeaways that he saw from his team.

“I thought we had good ball movement because last time we played Canyon they zoned us up and we had problems with that zone and we just did a better job at moving the ball inside-outside getting some good looks.”

As far as what the Wildcats can improve on, Coach Manalastas has one thing particular in mind.

“Free throws. Our free throw shooting is horrendous. There’s no other way to describe it.”

The Wildcats play against Saugus this week and are preparing themselves to be ready for the challenge.

“Saugus is a big game for us, it is a must win if we want to compete for the league title. We lost to Saugus here last time and we are going to practice hard over the weekend and get shots up and hopefully, we perform well,” said Williams.

The West Ranch Wildcats face off against the Saugus Centurions tomorrow in a battle for second place among two 4-2 teams. Tip-off is at 6:30.

KHTS Sports is your place for the 2018 Santa Clarita winter sports season and your Rams Super Bowl LIII 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.