Righetti’s Araujo plays and excels through the pain

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Everybody knows Righetti‘s Randall Hunter is one of the most lethal scorers in San Luis Obispo County, but it was another Warrior who made an impact against Antelope Valley‘s revolutionary punch-and-go defense on Friday night.

Despite saying he was hit ‘three or four times’ in the face by Antelope Valley defenders, senior guard Joey Araujo scored a season-high 21 points to lead Righetti to a 71-51 Division II-A victory over the visiting Antelopes.

Araujo suffered a cut above his right eye against the slap-happy Antelopes in the first half, forcing him to sit out a huge chunk of the game’s first 16 minutes. He scored most of his points in the second half as the Warriors pulled away from what was a close game at halftime. Hunter also scored 21 points in the win.

I don’t think AV had any malicious intent behind its physical perimeter defense -- I just think it was a case of classic overwhelmed-itis. The Antelopes weren’t even supposed to be playing in this game and I don’t think they were prepared for anyone other than Hunter to have a big game.

If the Warriors can get another guy such as Araujo or teammates Richard Easton or Casey Smith to have a big-time performance against Katella on Tuesday, I think they’ll be playing in the quarterfinals.

-- Austin Knoblauch