East County Sports

Pfitzner, Vaqueros give Sultans fits

2019 EAST COUNTY PREP BOYS BASKETBALL

EastCountySports.com staff report

LAKESIDE – El Capitan senior JACOB PFITZNER took matters into his own hands Friday night, leading a 15-2 run in the second half that lifted the Vaqueros to a 61-50 Grossmont Valley League win over the visiting Santana Sultans on Friday night.

As a result, El Capitan (10-7) improved to 2-0 in the early stages of the GVL league race.

Worthy challenger Santana had closed to within three points in the third quarter but with three minutes to go in the period, Pfitzner and the Vaqueros turned up the offense and, in turn, turned up the crowd.

Junior guard HARRISON MORTON grabbed a long rebound and led a break, pushing the ball ahead to Pfitzner for a layup to make the score 42-35.

Early in the fourth, Pfitzner drove the lane and scooped a layup off the glass for a 44-36 advantage.

After another Sultan free throw, Pfitzner called for the pass and sank a deep three-pointer to put El Cap up by 10.

On an ensuing possession, Pfitzner grabbed an offensive rebound for a putback up-and-in for a 49-37 lead.

Moments later, Pfitzner calmly stepped back a couple of feet beyond the arc and sank another three for a 15-point cushion.

But the Vaqueros next basket nearly brought the house down when junior JAQORI HARRIS started a drive from mid-court that resulted in a one-hand jam.

The Vaqueros got off to a hot start early, as senior RANDY TUCKER made a steal, then calmly handed off to his point guard, Morton, who rewarded the big center by assisting him for a layup to make it 7-2.

However, the Sultans would bounce back to take a 15-12 early in the second quarter behind a three-pointer from DESMOND WILLIAMS.

Harris then knocked down a three-pointer to tie the game.

Moments later, Pfitzner canned a three-pointer to give the Vaqueros the lead.

Pfitzner finished with 21 points, four rebounds, three steals and three assists, while Tucker added 19 points and 16 rebounds. Morton handed out six assists and had three steals.

Santana (8-12, 1-1 GVL) got 19 points from Williams, while teammate BRANDON SIMMONS added 12 points and eight rebounds. The Sultans’ BEN HART added seven points, four rebounds and three assists.

The Vaqueros get a big chance to make even bigger noise when they host preseason league favorite Valhalla on Tuesday.

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