Cate waited until the fourth quarter to pick up its game and pulled away from Santa Maria Valley Christian Academy, 58-44, in a non-league boys basketball game on Tuesday.
Down 35-33 going into the fourth quarter, Cate outscored VCA 25-9 to earn its second win of the season. Coach Bryan Rodriguez cited the defensive play of Noah Somaratne and Kian O’Connor as a key to the win. They shut down VCA’s top scorer Luke Nichols in the final quarter. Nichols finished with 19 points, with 10 coming in the first half.
Mark Pilso and Nick Thomas led the Cate offense with 22 and 20 points, respectively. Somaratne added 10 points.
The Rams play in the Ojai Valley Classic on Thursday.
