Eisenhower snagged their first victory of the season in a 72-62 performance over a lowly Pasco squad this past Tuesday night, as heard live right here on 1460 ESPN Yakima. Following an 0-2 start, the school they call "Ike" was aware of the pressure on them to win.

"We needed this win for the psyche of our team. I had three starters foul out in the fourth quarter, and our bench was able to deliver, our kids never gave up, " said a relieved Coach Bazaldua in the postgame.

Pasco's offensive attack was led by 5-11 junior point guard Diego Gutierrez. Gutierrez finished the game with 25 points, but what's shocking is every point came driving to the basket or at the free throw line. For a 5-11 point guard carrying a seemingly un-athletic frame, it was an unacceptable performance by Ike's defense.

"I told Alex Terrazas: that kid (Gutierrez) doesn't touch the ball for the rest of the game and I don't care if you foul out," said Coach Bazaldua on how they eventually slowed down Gutierrez.

Alex Terrazas would go on to foul out, but not before he finished with 25 points. Once Gutierrez was neutralized, the whole Pasco offense wasn't able to flow anymore. This led to Eisenhower being able to pull away in the fourth quarter.

Noteworthy performances for Ike include the budding sophomore Demario Morgan, who finished with 14 points. Also sophomore point guard Teddy Rodriguez came off the bench in the fourth quarter and injected life into the offense with six unanswered points that stretched Ike's lead to double digits.

One player that did not step up for Ike was senior forward Efrain Araujo. Araujo entered Tuesday's matchup averaging 35 PPG over his last two contests. He finished with 4 points, but Araujo remained upbeat after the game.

"The whole 35 PPG got to my head and it wasn't coming to me tonight. I went into this one looking to help my teammates and we got it turned around." The Ike faithful can certainly expect a bounce-back performance from the three-year veteran coming up soon.

Ike will squeeze every ounce of momentum out of this victory, as Coach Bazaldua continues his mission to get Eisenhower Basketball their first winning season since 2009.

You're next chance to watch Ike will be this Saturday at home against Moses Lake. It will be Ike's first conference game of the year.

 

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