SENIOR FRANKIE PEÑA LAYS IN TWO POINTS IN THE VARSITY GRIZZLIES’ ROUT OF TURLOCK CHRISTIAN’S EAGLES LAST WEEK. THE PLAYOFFS BEGIN FEB. 24, WHEN THE GRIZZLIES WILL HOST THE FIRST ROUND. GAZETTE PHOTO BY JILL BALLINGER What started as a drought, ended in a rout last Thursday night when Mariposa hosted Turlock Christian in a Southern Athletic League hoopfest.

Mariposa rolled to an easy 52-34 victory to move its league mark to a spotless 13- 0 after clinching its fifth straight SAL crown earlier in the week.

Neither team cound find the bottom of the net early in the first quarter. For Turlock Christian, is was understandable. For Mariposa, it was just sloppy execution.

With 5:29 left in the first period, senior guard Frankie Peña found senior pivotman Cody Wichmann open in the paint, and that lay-up broke the ice, 2-0.

Senior point guard Jarrett Miller drained an 18-foot jumper to put the Grizzlies in front, 4-0, before Wichmann grabbed an offensive board and stuffed it back in the hole for a 6-0 margin. Turlock Christian didn’t get on the scoreboard until the 2:56 mark of the initial stanza.

Before the period was over, Miller ripped the net on a long-range 3-pointer, guard Parker Shaddix added a short jumper, and senior forward Pierce Chaney dumped in an offensive carom for a 13-5 Grizzly lead. Peña added a lay-up for a 15-5 Mariposa advantage after the first 8 minutes.

Head coach Trace DeSandres began substituting liberally in the second stanza. Jeremiah Baca launched the third period with a steal and a lay-up. Halfway through the period Wichmann took an assist from Damon Wichas and banked in a bucket for a 21-7 Mariposa lead.

After senior Cody Peterson put back an offensive rebound with 2:25 left in the half for a 25-9 Mariposa bulge, the Eagles cut the margin at the charity stripe.

TC would connect on 6 straight free throws, interrupted only by a Wichmann lay-up on a Brandon Kinelele assist which left the Eagles trailing by just 10, 27-17, at the intermission.

Chaney paced Mariposa’s offense in the third period. He scored on an in-bounds pass for a 33-17 lead, then launched from the top of the key for another lay-up. After Peña hit a shot with 4:13 left in the third, Chaney drove the baseline and rolled in another bucket to push the Grizzlies’ advantage to 37-21. TC could muster just 5 points in the third, and trailed, 37- 22, going into the final 8 minutes.

Wichmann finished the contest with 17 points and 16 rebounds. Chaney was the second leading scorer with 8 points, and Baca chipped in 7.

“We weren’t real focused in this game, but they got it done,” said DeSandres. “We’ll use the next two league games to sharpen our attack before we get into the playoffs.”

Mariposa hosted arch-rival Le Grand on Wednesday evening. Those results can be found at www.mariposagazette. com. The Grizzlies will travel to Waterford for their final SAL match of the season on Friday night, and will open the first round of the Sac-Joaquin Section Division IV playoffs at home next Wednesday evening.