STOCKTON — Sierra High opened the Trojan Christmas Classic Thursday with a nice overall performance over Elk Grove's Laguna Creek.
In the 59-43 win, the Timberwolves (9-2) played an efficient game on both ends of the court at the fifth annual event hosted by Lincoln High.
"We played with good purpose," said Sierra coach Scott Thomason, who also got strong contributions from his bench.
In particular, Romeo Sesma played strong defense while hauling in five rebounds, including two on the offensive glass for second-chance baskets.
"Romeo came in and brought great energy," Thomason added.
The Timberwolves are looking to keep the momentum today against Edison, which held on for a 77-73 victory over Golden Valley. Tipoff is scheduled at 5 p.m.
Against the Cardinals (5-6) of the Metropolitan Conference, they wasted little time getting their game untracked.
A pair of inside feeds to John Elijah coupled with a steal and a coast-to-coast drive by Kendrick Currey and a lay-up by Carl Rice boosted Sierra to an 8-0 start.
Sophomore Zachariah Curry came off the bench and contributed with a steal and and-one while driving to the hoop.
The Timberwolves were solid from the free throw line, hitting 9 of 9 in the first half and 10 of 13 for the game.
"We really work on free throws (during practice)," said Currey, who was 4 from 4 from the line while finishing with a game-high 18 points.
He also had six steals and five boards.
Sierra's solid play led to a 36-20 halftime lead.
The only bump in the road for the Timberwolves occurred in the third when Laguna Creek reeled off nine unanswered points, creating turnovers along the way with pressure defense.
"We got sloppy," said Thomason as his team quickly regrouped.
Zachariah Curry, who chipped in with seven points, delivered a zone-busting trey and Elijah scored an uncontested hoop as result of his team breaking the press.
Ryan Borgeson delivered the dagger to the Cardinals by sinking a 3 in the fourth. By then, Sierra had a 53-37 advantage.
Borgeson finished with 11 points, while Elijah had nine points and five rebounds. Jaedon Malone also contributed with five boards and four points.
"We'll have to play even better against Edison," Thomason said.