Walnut Boys Basketball Remains Undefeated Going Into Rivalry Game Against Diamond Bar

Before last Friday night's game against the Diamond Ranch Panthers, Walnut head coach Josh Cameron said limiting turnovers and making the open shots was going to be the difference between a win or loss against the Panthers.

Coach Cameron was right about that because in the first quarter the Mustangs were unable to get the ball into the basket and had a few turnovers that allowed Diamond Ranch to get on the board first and jump to an early lead. To watch highlights of the game go to our official website: Sportscenetv.net

It was obvious from the beginning of the game the Panthers were ready to battle as predicted. Diamond Ranch was able to control the boards and able to overcome the height disadvantage as they put up 16 points with 12 of those coming from the field.

The Panthers were led by Ethan Jarrell who was the game's leading scorer with 20 points.

Walnut had to depend a little bit more on their outside game and take advantage of their free throws as they dropped a couple of three-point shots and made five visits to the line of which they converted two. The score was 18 to 16 with Walnut in the lead at the end of one quarter of play.

In the second quarter, the teams were still battling. Diamond Ranch, although controlling the tempo, was struggling to find the bottom of the net and had only scored seven points to Walnut’s 11 points.  

Walnut had thrown up six attempts at three point line only converting one. The rest of their scoring had come from field goals.  At the half, the score was Walnut 29, Diamond Ranch 23.

Walnut must’ve decided that enough was enough because in the third quarter they took control of the game.

Diamond Ranch again struggled to drop baskets and they were just outgunned by Walnut. 

The Mustangs were led by Zuri Williams and Rob Harrelson who both had 13 points in the game making them the leading scorers for their team.

Walnut went on to score 20 points in the third quarter to lead 49 to 36 at the end of the third quarter.

Th fourth quarter was no different as the fast and physical Mustangs went on to get the victory over Diamond Ranch 64-49.

Monday will be a big game for the Walnut Mustangs as they will face their inter district rivals the Diamond Bar Brahmas. 

Currently, the Brahmas are in second place with a league record of 4-1. If the Mustangs win the game they will remain atop the Hacienda League with sole possession of first place. However, if Diamond Bar should get the win, then we will have a two way tie between the Mustangs and the Brahmas for first place.

This should be a good one as it rekindles the past rivalry games during the years when both teams had an elite basketball program where they also faced off in the playoffs. 

Tipoff is at 6:30 p.m. at Walnut High School. If you can't attend the game, then be sure to follow us on twitter @sportscenetv for game update. Also, be sure to visit our official website Sportscenetv.net to watch video highlights of the game as we will have our camera crew covering the game.

Send us your comments and tell us what you thought of the game or about the  big upcoming rivalry game Walnut vs Diamond Bar.