Tesoro created space with Dos Pueblos in the fourth quarter of Friday’s CIF Division 2A game, with the Titans pulling away down the stretch of a 64-50 quarterfinal victory.
Tesoro led by just one at the start of the final period. Dos Pueblos led briefly in the third quarter with Cruz Mertens catching fire and knocking down four 3-pointers.
John Jenkins led the Titans with 16 points. Conrad Snyder, with 14, and Austin Channer, with 11, also reached double figures in scoring.
Mertens scored a game-high 18 points while Zachary Shugart added 13.
Shugart held Tesoro’s leading scorer for the season, 6-8 Tanner Lancona, to eight points.
The fifth-seeded Titans advance to Tuesday’s semifinals. Dos Pueblos, seeded No. 13, upset No. 4 Elsinore in the second round to reach the quarterfinals.
BOX SCORE
DOS PUEBLOS – Perez 2, Williams 6, Zajic 5, Olson 2, Ray 4, Shugart 13, Mertens 18.
TESORO – Snyder 14, Channer 11, Spreen 5, Lancona 8, Smeltzer 1, Jenkins 16, Mirza 2.
Dos Pueblos 10 12 17 11 – 50
Tesoro 10 11 17 16 – 64
