Palm Desert's second-half surge leads Aztecs to CIF playoff win over Jordan

Palm Desert High School has just three seniors on its boys' basketball roster. Head coach Justin Sobczyk has said that the future of the program is bright.
But on Wednesday, Sobczyk and his team were all about now. And the Aztecs looked like a team that won't go out easy in the CIF Southern Section playoffs.
Trailing at halftime at home, the Aztecs outscored Jordan High (Long Beach) by 19 points in the second half to roll to a 78-63 win in their 3AA Division first-round matchup.
Palm Desert will now hit the road to face Linfield Christian on Friday.
Palm Desert (21-8) made its first eight shots following the intermission and opened the third quarter on a 13-3 run that gave the Aztecs the lead for good.
'We started playing a lot harder,' Sobczyk said, 'and we made shots in the second half.'
Junior guard Wil Wilson was 4-for-4 and drained a trio of 3-pointers in the third quarter and 6-foot-7 junior forward Jake Brande dunked the ball emphatically over a defender that sent the home crowd into a frenzy.
Palm Desert outscored Jordan 23-11 in the quarter and then successfully navigated Jordan's full-court press throughout the fourth quarter to seal the comeback win.
Sobczyk had his guys locked in.
'Basically, he just said work on our defense, box out, rebound and just take care of the ball,' Wilson said.
In the fourth quarter, it was junior guard Jecory Jones who had the hot hand. He finished the quarter with seven points and junior point guard Paul Dreisbach made 4-of-5 free throws down the stretch to keep the Aztecs in front, even after Jordan cut the lead to 71-61 with two minutes remaining.
Wilson finished the game with a team-high 20 points, including four 3s, but the Aztecs benefited from a balanced attack. Brande added 16 points, Jones had 15, Dreisbach had 14 and senior Diego Montes finished with 10.
'I just love this group,' Sobczyk said. 'I love the camaraderie. I love the unselfishness. And if we continue to do that, it's going to take us a long way.'
Palm Desert shared a Desert Empire League title with Rancho Mirage and Palm Springs, and the Rattlers and Indians will now face one another in the 2A playoffs after each team won on Wednesday.
Rancho Mirage traveled three hours in the rain to Rio Mesa (Oxnard) to play its first-round game, and drive home with a 58-52 win.Senior captain Vincent Davis finished with 13 points, including the game-clinching 3-pointer. Sophomore captain Marcus Gragg-Buchanan scored 15 points, and freshman Cash Gervin led the Rattlers with 16 points in his first CIF playoff game.Syeed Baaree, Christian Perez and Roland Barnett each played solid defense, head coach Rob Hanmer said. The Rattlers host Palm Springs at 7 p.m. Friday.
Andrew John covers sports for The Desert Sun and the USA TODAY Network. Email him at andrew.john@desertsun.com.
Boys' basketball
2A: Palm Springs 64, West Ranch 33
2A: Rancho Mirage 58, Rio Mesa 52
3AA: Palm Desert 78, Jordan 63
3AA: Beckman 69, Desert Christian Academy 37
5AA: Anaheim 68, Desert Hot Springs 61
5AA: Diamond Ranch 77, Desert Chapel 24
5AA: Eisenhower 98, Palm Valley 30
5A: Indio 43, Riverside Prep 41
5A: Coachella Valley 79, Hesperia Christian 48
Boys' basketball
2A: Palm Springs at Rancho Mirage
3AA: Palm Desert at Linfield Christian
5A: Coachella Valley at Indio
This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Second-half surge leads Palm Desert to CIF playoff win over Jordan

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