One more win will give Jaguars a Valley League basketball title

With just one more win, the Valley Center varsity boys basketball team will clinch its first Valley League championship in school history.
The Jaguars won three games in a row this week to set up their shot at the league title in the final game of the regular season, which will take place at Orange Glen on Friday night at 7 p.m.
“It’ll be a good game,” said head coach Bob Purdy. “They played hard against us last time, and it’s always tough to play them late in the season.”
The first of Valley Center’s three wins this week came at home against Del Norte last Tuesday. The Jags took a commanding lead early in the game and kept the pressure on to take a 61–41 win.
The Jaguars went on a 6–1 run to open the game, extended the lead to 10–3 midway through the opening period, and finished off the first quarter with a 13–5 lead. Stehly Reden scored eight of Valley Center’s points in the first quarter, as the Jags took advantage of their offensive rebounds and free throw opportunities.
Del Norte found some rhythm on offense in the second quarter, but the Jaguars got a boost from Robby Tortes, who scored six points in the period while subbing in for Reden. AJ Broomell added a long three-pointer at the end of the quarter to put the Jags up 29–15 at halftime.
Del Norte scored 13 points in each of the final two quarters, but Valley Center ran away with 14 in the third and 18 in the fourth to seal the win.
Reden led the scoring with 16 points, while Broomell added 15, Tortes had 14, James Siva had eight, Mike McInerny had six and Brett Henderson had two.
Friday’s game at San Dieguito turned out to be a little bit closer, as the Jaguars nearly squandered a big lead late in the game, but held on for a 60–54 win.
Once again, the Jags came out hot, scoring 15 points in the first quarter to take a seven-point lead. Both teams scored 16 in the second quarter, keeping the Valley Center lead at seven going into the locker room.
The Jaguars increased the lead to ten with 14 points in the third quarter, but San Dieguito nearly came back with 19 points in the fourth quarter.
Broomell was on fire from beyond the arc, nailing five three-pointers and dropping 23 points to lead the scoring, while Reden added 18 points, Tortes had six, Siva and Henderson each had four, McInerny had three and John Broomell had two.
The Jaguars returned home on Saturday to face Sierra Pacific, a team from the Fresno area, and showed no mercy in taking an 82–41 win.
Both teams played outstanding offense in the first quarter, as the Jaguars racked up 23 points, including 11 from Reden, but only led by eight. The Jags extended the lead with 15 points in the second quarter, putting them up by 12 at halftime.
Valley Center spread the ball around very well in the third quarter, with seven players scoring at least two points in the period. The Jaguar defense also stepped up, holding Sierra Pacific to just seven points in the quarter and pushing the lead out to 23 points.
The Jags got lots of playing time for the backups in the fourth quarter, but the offense still fired away on all cylinders, leading to 26 points in the period. Once again, the defense was also strong, limiting the Golden Bears to eight points and sealing the lopsided win.
Reden and AJ Broomell each scored 18 points, while Tortes added 15, Siva scored ten, Dan Henderson had nine, McInerny had four and Beau Reilly had two.
Valley Center is now 16–8 overall heading into the season’s final game on Friday night.

(photos by Ray Flores)