Eagles put away Navarro in 27-4A




Juan Lopez (3) dribbles past a Navarro defender in Pleasanton’s 60-52 win on Saturday, Jan. 16. GABRIEL ROMERO | PLEASANTON EXPRESS

Juan Lopez (3) dribbles past a Navarro defender in Pleasanton’s 60-52 win on Saturday, Jan. 16. GABRIEL ROMERO | PLEASANTON EXPRESS

The Pleasanton Eagles put on a clinic despite a slow start in their District 27-4A opener.

On Saturday afternoon, the Eagles beat Geronimo Navarro 60-52 in their District 27-4A opener thanks to a massive second-quarter outburst.

“Everybody is fired up now, we got the first game out of the way. We were a little nervous at the start, but we got it out of the way,” said RJ Marquez. “Hopefully, we can continue with that energy and move on to our next game.”

Pleasanton and Navarro both had a slow start to the game, the two teams combined for two points midway through the first quarter. Pleasanton led 9-4 after the first quarter.

Marquez said the team’s nerves caused the team to start slow.

“We always have to start off good. We have to make sure we get a bucket right off the bat,” Marquez said.

The Eagles finished the first quarter on a 9-2 run to take the lead.

The second quarter was controlled by the Eagles. Pleasanton went on a 22-9 run, hitting multiple threes to end the first half up by 18 points.

RJ Marquez drives into the lane during Pleasanton’s 60-52 win over Navarro on Saturday, Jan. 16. Marquez led the team with 21 points in their district-opening win. GABRIEL ROMERO | PLEASANTON EXPRESS

RJ Marquez drives into the lane during Pleasanton’s 60-52 win over Navarro on Saturday, Jan. 16. Marquez led the team with 21 points in their district-opening win. GABRIEL ROMERO | PLEASANTON EXPRESS

“We’re just thinking like, we got to pull away, we got to pull away. We can’t keep it close,” Marquez said. “If we keep it close, we know that they’ll get their confidence up and they’ll make some runs because they’re a good team. But thank goodness we pulled away in the end.”

Marquez led the team with 21 points. Jason Guerra was second on the team in scoring with 14 points.

Guerra said the team will have to slow down and relax on the court before the next game, while also keeping the intensity high. He credited the defense for keeping the Panthers at bay.

“Basketball is a game of runs,” Head Coach Richard Marquez said. “Sometimes it’s gonna go in, sometimes it’s not and we try to rely a little bit more of our defense or speed to get in there and make some things happen.”

Pleasanton caused turnovers and scored when they had the opportunity.

“Once we get a steal, we’ve got to capitalize on it. If we don’t capitalize on it, it’s like nothing ever happened. We have to make sure we finish plays,” coach Marquez said.

One thing the team tries to show other teams is that they can out hustle anyone on the court. Now, the Eagles have their eyes set on going undefeated in district.

“We got off on the right foot and we gotta make sure we take care of business,” coach Marquez said.

Pleasanton (12-6, 1-0) traveled to Gonzales on Tuesday night and will travel to Cuero on Jan. 22.

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