72nd annual Polly Wilhelmsen Invitational: Day 1 scores, highlights, top performers
The 72nd annual Polly Wilhelmsen Invitational tipped off on Wednesday at Mt. Whitney and Redwood high schools in Visalia.
Here's a quick recap from day one of the 16-team high school boys basketball tournament:
Redwood 50, Delano 43
Evan Galley netted 13 points and Zander Jensen added 11 points to help the Rangers knock off the Tigers at Redwood.
Redwood's Noah Robles chipped in nine points and Cole Gilcrest had six points.
The Rangers entered halftime with a 29-14 advantage.
Delano's Jotham Amado and Ibrahim Shuwait each had 17 points.
Delano | 9 | 5 | 12 | 17 | − | 43 |
Redwood | 10 | 19 | 19 | 2 | − | 50 |
Delano: Juan Lopez 4, Edward Rodriguez 3, Damian Miranda 2, Jotham Amado 17, Ibrahim Shuwait 17.
Redwood: Isaac Esquivel 3, Zander Jensen 11, Josh Abbot 2, Elijah Casas 4, Malakai De Rose 2, Noah Robles 9, Cole Gilcrest 6, Evan Galley 13.
Dinuba 84, Monache 51
Dinuba led the tournament on the first day in scoring, dropping 84 points in a win over Monache.
The Emperors were led by Brice Watley (19 points, five rebounds), Josiah Ochoa (16 points) and Javier Torres (14 points, eight rebounds). Watley scored 10 of his 19 points in the first half as Dinuba went into the break with a 42-23 lead.
A dozen Dinuba players got on the score sheet. Caleb Jefferson added 10 points.
Ty Baxter registered a Monache-best 20 points. Emmett Focke had 13 points.
Monache | 8 | 15 | 13 | 15 | − | 51 |
Dinuba | 21 | 21 | 23 | 19 | − | 84 |
Monache: Anthony Ochoa 4, Ty Baxter 20, Jaydan Garcia 1, Ramsey Barrios 10, Jody Duran 2, D.J. Shimer 1, Emmett Focke 13.
Dinuba: Michael Espirito 11, Joseph Lopez 5, Josiah Ochoa 16, Javier Torres 14, Diego Tuttle 1, Daniel Del Rio 1, Carmelo Mendoza 2, Jonathan Garcia 2, Brice Watley 19, Caleb Jefferson 10, Owen Vega 1, Angel Sanchez 2.
Exeter 51, Mt Whitney 39
Aden Plyman erupted for a game-best 28 points, more than half of Exeter's points, as the Monarchs earned a first-round victory at the Wilhelmsen tournament.
Plyman made 5-for-7 triples and drained 7-of-9 attempts at the free-throw line. He also had four rebounds and a pair of steals.
Exeter shot 50% from beyond the arch. The Monarchs also received a trey from Andrew Taylor, who scattered eight points. Blaine McFall also added eight points. McFall grabbed a team-best 14 boards and made seven blocks with two steals.
Exeter had a strong fourth quarter, outscoring Mt. Whitney 22-9 to seal the victory. Plyman had 14 of his 28 points in the final period.
Mt. Whitney's Izzy Briggs and Chase Kottage had eight and seven points each, respectively.
Exeter | 5 | 18 | 6 | 22 | − | 51 |
Mt. Whitney | 13 | 5 | 12 | 9 | − | 39 |
Exeter: Cadon Hughes 1, Andrew Taylor 8, Blaine McFall 8, Aden Plyman 28, Madden Pasos 6.
Mt. Whitney: Izzy Briggs 8, Adrian Huerta 6, John Applewhite 4, Matt Townsend 5, Daniel Bocanegra 4, Carter Myers 5, Chase Kottage 7.
Tulare Union 70, Golden West 53
Brayden Stevenson scored a game-high 26 points to direct the Tribe to a tournament victory at Redwood.
Stevenson also had five rebounds, four assists and a steal.
Also for Tulare Union, Damien Rivera finished with 15 points and Damaje Riley added 14 points.
The Tribe pulled away in the third quarter, outscoring Golden West 22-7. Stevenson was the spark plug during that stretch, dropping 13 points.
Golden West was led by Juan Cortes 14 points. Jagar Brooks knocked down 13 points and Jayden Najera had 12 points.
Golden West | 18 | 14 | 7 | 14 | − | 53 |
Tulare Union | 16 | 16 | 22 | 16 | − | 70 |
Golden West: Juan Cortes 14, Vince Aceves 2, Javon Holmes 5, Noah Young 1, Jayden Najera 12, Jagar Brooks 13, Boah Apolarino 3, Evan Renteria 3.
Tulare Union: Damien Rivera 15, Demaje Riley 14, Brayden Stevenson 26, Franklin Lockard 4, Lincoln Allen 2, Abraham Maciel 4, Rashawn Hayes 3, Josiah Gray 2.
More: Tulare County Football: The best of the 2023 season
El Diamante 47, Hanford 46
Santana Guijarro netted 19 points to lead the Miners to a first-round tournament win at Redwood.
El Diamante's Josh Velasquez had 12 points and Emilio Cervantez hauled in 11 rebounds. Guijarro also chipped in a pair of assists and four steals.
Hanford's J.C. Turner dropped a team-high 16 points. Jaren Pimentel contributed nine points. Kourdey Glass had five rebounds, seven assists, a block, three steals and six points.
Hanford | 9 | 12 | 14 | 11 | − | 46 |
El Diamante | 14 | 14 | 9 | 9 | − | 47 |
Hanford: Jaren Pimentel 9, J.C. Turner 16, Anthony Perryman 5, Kourdey Glass 6, Christian Wittwer 3, Seth Holden 7.
El Diamante: Josh Velasquez 12, Logan Tavare 5, Santana Guijarro 19, Exra Ayers 2, Matthew Perez 9.
Porterville 67, Justin Garza 64
Porterville converted 27-of-44 two-point shots to win its opener at the 72nd annual Polly Wilhelmsen Invite. The Panthers are the defending tournament champions.
Brayden Della and Camden Haynes each tallied 22 points to lead Porterville. Della had the team's only 3-pointer in the second period. Omar Ramirez had 15 points — all in the third quarter.
Della registered a double-double. He also had 11 rebounds (10 offensive) and an assist and made 8-of-13 shots. Haynes finished with nine rebounds and four assists.
The Panthers pulled away in the second half, outscoring Garza 37-34 to break a 30-30 tie at halftime.
Cameron Green paced Garza with 18 points. Carter Cabario drained five triples and added 15 points.
Garza | 15 | 15 | 14 | 20 | − | 64 |
Porterville | 8 | 22 | 26 | 11 | − | 67 |
Garza: Omar Bogan 2, Payton Powell 14, Kaden Owens 4, Gurveer Singh 6, Tristian Chavez 3, Cameron Greening 18, Carter Cabario 15, Javi Avalos 1.
Porterville: Brayden Della 22, Jace Balangue 4, Camden Haynes 22, Jhabie Casabay 2, Omar Ramirez 15, Logan Martinez 2.
Tulare Western 80, Pioneer Valley 59
Malachi Ficher exploded for 32 points to lead Tulare Western to a 21-point victory in the opening round of tournament play at Mt. Whitney's Charles Marshall Court.
Ficher scored nine of his 32 points in the first quarter and finished with four 3-pointers. Kaine Garcia added 22 points, sinking a team-high five triples.
The Mustangs led 44-30 at halftime.
Tulare Western shot 55% from 3-point land, connecting on 11-of-20 attempts. Garcia went 5-for-7 from beyond the arch. Ficher also dished eight assists and had eight rebounds. Nine different Mustangs players canned at least two points.
Inderveer Toor's 25 points led Pioneer Valley.
Pioneer Valley | 14 | 16 | 17 | 12 | − | 59 |
Tulare Western | 24 | 20 | 19 | 17 | − | 80 |
Pioneer Valley: Thomas Zepeda 8, Elias Giddings 11, Josh Inay 3, James Torres 3, Jarell White 7, Inderveer Toor 25, David Lopez 2.
Tulare Western: Aubrey Taylor 2, Malachi Ficher 32, Michael Johnson 6, Carson Miller 3, Kaine Garcia 22, Xavier Garcia 5, Jaydon Hennigham 5, Gabriel Gallegos 3, Grant Crawford 2.
More: 72nd annual Polly Wilhelmsen Preview: 15 players to watch, schedule
North Bakersfield 50, Kingsburg 47
North Bakersfield built a 27-20 lead at the break and cruised to a victory on the first day of tournament play at Redwood.
The Stars were led offensively by Junior Rodriguez (14 points), Ethan Saenz (10 points) and Nate Becerra (12 points)
Kingsburg's Isaak Smith scored a team-high 13 points.
North Bakersfield | 14 | 13 | 13 | 10 | − | 50 |
Kingsburg | 6 | 14 | 13 | 14 | − | 47 |
North: Wyatt Haner 2, Elias Griffin 2, Junior Rodriguez 14, David Vasquez 2, Dylan Taylor 4, Baylin Statler 2, Ethan Saenz 10, Nate Becerra 12, Caden Haner 2.
Kingsburg: Bryce Cornett 5, Chris Browe 8, Carlos Blancaz 8, Jensen Hirschkorn 9, Max Warkentin 2, John Peterson 2 Isaak Smith 13.
Thursday's games
Championship bracket: Quarterfinals
North vs. El Diamante, 6 p.m., at Redwood
Dinuba vs. Redwood, 7:45 p.m., at Redwood
Tulare Western vs. Porterville, 6 p.m., at Mt. Whitney
Tulare Union vs. Exeter, 7:45 p.m., at Mt. Whitney
The tournament's championship game will be played on Saturday, Dec. 30, at Mt. Whitney's Charles Marshall Court. Tip-off is at 7:45 p.m. General admission tickets are $8 for adults and $5 for students, seniors and children.
This article originally appeared on Visalia Times-Delta: 72nd annual Polly Wilhelmsen Invite: Day 1 scores, top performers
