MOVING ON

By Brandon Petersen

The one-two combination of Jeramiah Paulino and Rayven Turner proved too much for La Sierra in the semifinals of the Cal Pac playoffs Friday afternoon, as Westcliff knocked the Golden Eagles out.

Paulino had an epic shooting night and finished with 22. He was only upstaged in the stat book by Turner, who had a slightly better day percentage-wise and sent in 19 of his own.

Check out these lines:

Paulino was 7-of-12 from the field, including a pair of triples and a 6-of-8 mark at the stripe.

Turner went 7-of-10, sending home three triples and hitting both of his free throws.

Marques Sales, not to be outdone, came off the bench and sent in 19 of his own on a 6-of-8 outing including a three.

With those three carrying the water, the rest of the Warriors merely had to get them the ball.

"Three players combined for 60 points, which outscored (La Sierra)," Westcliff head coach Jerred Cook said. "Sometimes you. Sometimes me. Always us. Our true depth showed up again. Marq bounced back, Rayven had an efficient outing, and JP had a career night."

Cook pointed out that the Warriors got the win handily with their three other All Cal Pac performers combining for just eight points.

Micaiah Hankins took just six shots, as did Aaron Strings, and Evan Hoosier took one.

Meanwhile, everyone was on the boards, with Sales collecting eight as the high-water mark.

Westcliff only had eight turnovers.

"We were able to take care of the basketball and put our game plan defensively into action," Cook said. "Great team win."

The Warriors are playing with a 1-0 mindset every time they hit the floor, and the next time they do that – Saturday at 4 p.m. at UC Merced's Gallo Gym – it will be for all the Cal Pac marbles.

The Dubs and Merced square off for the tournament championship in the Bobcats' final Cal Pac contest.