By Rick Assad
For two quarters, the Burroughs High boys’ basketball team showed that it was slightly better than visiting Bishop Diego.
The same couldn’t be said for the second half as the Cardinals outscored the Bears 34-24 and claimed a 58-50 victory in a CIF Southern Section Division III A second-round playoff game on Tuesday evening.
Three players scored in double figures for Burroughs, and they included shooting guard Sam Horning’s 11 points and 10 points each from point guard Jailen Jackson and small forward Chase Walker.
This total of 31 points was equaled by senior shooting guard Tyler Williams, who tallied 21 of those points in the second half as the Cardinals connected on 12 of 21 from the field for 57.1 percent.
Over that same stretch, the Bears made six of 27 for 22.2 percent and hit 15 of 53 for 28 percent in the game.
Bishop Diego (20-7 overall and 8-0 for first place in the Tri-Valley League) drilled 22 of 48 for 45.8 percent on the night.
Burroughs is a good team with a number of skilled players and even found a way to knock off the top-team in the division, La Canada 55-45 in the first round of the tournament.
What kept the game relatively close was that the Bears made five more free throws (16 of 25 for 64 percent compared to 11 of 21 for 52.3 percent).
Each squad dropped 10 points in the first quarter as Williams accounted for four points and teammate, junior point guard Bryan Trejo, had four of his seven points.
The Bears’ shooting guard Nick Schandler, delivered a three-pointer for his only scoring of the night in the frame.
Williams once again led the charge in the second period for the Cardinals as he delivered five points and had nine points at the intermission as the visitors trailed 26-24.
Senior power forward Kai Morphy had a three-pointer for the Cardinals in the second quarter and finished with 11 points.
Point guard Jagger Topp’s seven points, which was what he finished with, led Burroughs (17-10 in all games and 3-4 for fifth in the Pacific League) in the second quarter while Walker tacked on five points.
Bishop Diego came out and made seven of 11 shots for 63.6 percent in the third frame and outscored Burroughs 17-9 as Williams had 11 points that included the first of two three-pointers.
The Bears hit four of 14 from the floor for 28.5 percent and were paced by Horning’s five points.
In the fourth period, Bishop Diego connected on five of 10 for 50 percent from the floor and Williams was once again the key player scoring 11 points.
Burroughs struggled in the fourth quarter, making two of 13 for 15.3 percent from the field as Jackson had eight points that included a trey.
Shooting guard DeSean Robinson had four points for the Bears, while power forward/center T.J. Lumpkin added three points and point guard Jesse Pineda finished with two points.
