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Walnut Remains Undefeated in League, Dispatches Los Altos 60-46
Mustangs avenge earlier preseason loss to Conquerors in the finals of the Covina tourney, despite Christian Espinoza's game high 19 points
WALNUT – The Walnut Mustangs avenged its loss earlier in the Covina tournament finals to the host Los Altos Conquerors, 60-46 Wednesday evening, and in the process remained undefeated and in sole possession of the Hacienda League as both teams concluded the first half of their league schedule.
“We took care of the ball better tonight, “Walnut head coach Joe Khouzam said. “ We made our adjustments and handled them very well.”
Walnut opened on a quick 9-0 run before Los Altos knew what hit them. Ryan Herrera led the way with seven points during the run.
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Herrera led three Mustangs in double-digits, posting 17 points, nine rebounds and six blocks. Jeffery Huang added 16 points, four rebounds, three assists and three steals, while Dwight Ramos chipped in 11 points and three rebounds for the Mustangs who improve to 17-5.
Zuri Williams was able to lock down Los Altos’ Christian Espinoza who scored a game-high 19 points, most of which in the second half as Los Altos was chasing Walnut all game long.
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“Zuri (Williams) is a very good guard, and Christian is a very good player,” Khouzam said. “It was fun to watch two very good players go up against one another.”
Espinoza finished with 19 points three assists and two steals. Michael Barrera and David Tomlachoff added eight points apiece for the Conquerors who fell to 15-5 and 3-2.
“We play each game as if it was a league championship game, “Khouzam said.” They played very well tonight, defensively and overall.”
Walnut hosts West Covina tonight to start the second round of league play. Tipoff is at 6:30 pm
BOX SCORES
WALNUT – (60) Ryan Herrera (17), Jeff Huang (16), Dwight Ramos (11), Zuri Williams (8), Jordan Montenegro (6), Craig Chavez (2)
LOS ALTOS – (46) Christian Espinoza (19), David Barrera (8), David Tomlachoff (8), Allan Li (5), Brian Edwards (2), Julian Lopez (2), Zach Monoroy (1)
OTHER SCORES
Valle Vista League – Covina 60, Nogales 58
Hacienda League – Diamond Ranch 70, West Covina 56
Palomares League – Diamond Bar 54, South Hills 28