Sparks flew when Corona del Sol met with Gilbert Perry in a high-scoring game that saw the two teams total 198 points.
Corona, ranked 17th in the DigitalSports National Basketball Rankings, came into the game with a 23-1 record. Perry, though 19-5 on the season, entered the game unranked, but the Pumas did not back away from the challenge of taking on the state’s best.
What started as a battle quickly shifted towards what seemed to be a one-on-one game. Corona’s Alex Barcello and Perry’s Markus Howard, sophomores who once played AAU ball together in fifth grade, were merciless opponents on February 2. At one point, Howard dropped 22 points in a seven-minute span.
Barcello led Corona to a 50-42 lead by the half. A big third quarter saw Perry take a 31-29 advantage, leading to a 79-73 score going into the final stanza. Then the Aztecs found a way to slow down Howard just a bit, holding Perry to only 19 points in the fourth while adding on 27 to their total.
By the final whistle, del Sol walked away with a 106-92 victory. Barcello drained a career-high 50 points, shooting 19 of 25 from the field. Howard was right behind him with 47 of his own.
Helping Barcello lead the Aztecs was freshmen forward Marvin Bagley III, scoring 19 points.
Corona gets right back on the court with a game against Desert Ridge on February 3.
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