Coyotes soar to 86-44 win over Los Altos in second round

By Kyle Jorrey jorrey@theacorn.com

HOUSED-Calabasas point guard Drew Housman glides toward the hoop during the Coyotes' first-round victory over Granite Hills. On Tuesday, Calabasas defeated Los Altos of Apple Valley to advance to play Cajon of San Bernardino in the Div. IIA quarterfinals.

Paced by Conrad Fitzgerald’s 22 points, the No. 2 seeded Calabasas Coyotes cruised to a dominant 86-44 win at Los Altos Tuesday night in the second round of the Southern Section’s Div. IIA playoffs.

With the victory, the Coyotes (25-7) advance to play the Cajon Cowboys, champions of the San Andreas League, in the quarterfinals tomorrow. The game will be played at Cajon because Calabasas lost a Wednesday morning coin flip to decide the game’s location.

Following the one-sided victory over Los Altos, head coach Russell White said his players won with intensity, something they lacked in their 77-59 first-round defeat of Granite Hills.

"We played hard tonight, that was the difference," White said afterwards. "I saw more guys getting on the floor, more deflections . . . we were more aggressive offensively. Plus, we shared the ball. It was a fun victory."

Senior point guard Drew Housman recorded 18 points and seven assists on a night where the Coyotes combined for 23 team assists. Junior forward Ryan Delgizzi added 12 points and 10 rebounds in the effort.

After a slow start offensively, White said he challenged his team to get to rim and make things happen in the paint. The Coyotes responded, and by half time held a 10-point advantage over the squad from Hacienda Heights.

"We really killed them on the boards," White said. "We had a big-time height advantage and we made the most of it. . . . They really didn’t match up well with us at all."

With the loss, Los Altos finishes its season with a record of 15-13.

Next up for the Coyotes in their quest for a return to the finals is Cajon (22-6), a team coming off a 54-46 second-round victory over La Serna. The Cowboys have won 11 out of 12 and are led by the backcourt tandem of Aaron Williams and James Simmons.

Expect the matchup between Williams and Housman to be the story of the evening. Through two games in the playoffs, Housman is averaging 19 points and seven assists.

The Coyotes are currently riding a seven-game win streak.

"All I can say is I hope we just keep playing harder," White said. "If we do, good things will happen."