TUSTIN, CA- The first game of the afternoon at the Tustin Classic tournament saw the fifth ranked team in CIF Southern Section D3AA, Woodrow Wilson, defeat Woodbridge by a final score of 73-64. Junior guard Verak Monh cut through the Woodbridge defense from start to finish, and led Wilson with 23 points.
Woodbridge jumped out to an early 15-5 lead and held a four point advantage heading into halftime, despite full court pressure from Wilson. As the second half wore on, however, Wilson began to force more and more turnovers, as they steadily chipped away at the opposition.
“Early on, our shots weren’t falling, so we needed to attack more and play more aggressive,” Monh said. “We also fixed our defense and started contesting every shot, which paid dividends down the stretch.”
Woodbridge senior guard Sebastian Momdjian was on fire to start, hitting his first two three pointers, and finished with 14 points. Forward Daniel Thatcher was also a main contributor for the Warriors, scoring 12 points.
Leading 53-50 in the fourth quarter, Wilson continued to hold onto a narrow lead, needing a few key stops in a row to close Woodbridge out. A missed Jackson Rain three gave Wilson the ball in transition, and sophomore guard Jonathan Chan capitalized, taking the ball straight through the teeth of the defense and drawing a foul. Two made free throws allowed Wilson to set up in their full court pressure defense, and moments later, the Bruins forced a Momdjian Woodbridge offensive foul.
Two plays later, after a pair of Momdjian made foul shots, Monh stole the ball and scored in a matter of seconds. Moments after, Thatcher picked up a technical foul, and Wilson sent Monh to the line, who converted on one out of two. A key turning point down this stretch, the tech extended Wilson’s lead to seven with just over five minutes left, and the Bruins never looked back.
Free throws sealed the victory for Wilson, whose defense clearly gave them the edge against the Warriors. Woodbridge falls to 3-10 overall, after a tough 2-5 opening stretch in pre-league tournament competition. Wilson improves to 12-1, and will look to keep winning throughout the Tustin tournament as they gear up for league play.
