Wilson boys’ water polo continued to look like the top-seed in its CIF Southern Section Division 3 second-round win over Ventura on Thursday at Belmont Outdoor Pool. The Bruins started strong for the second straight game and cruised to a 16-7 win.
Wilson (21-10) will hit the road for the quarterfinal round against Schurr on Saturday. This is the first time since 2012 that the Bruins have won consecutive playoff games.
Sophomore Gray Carson and senior Ian Escoto led the charge for Wilson at both ends of the pool. Carson scored a game-high eight goals and added three assists while Escoto scored four times while dishing out three assists.
“Those two guys really dominated the first half,” Wilson coach Jeff Nesmith said. “You could tell they had that extra bit of playoff energy with the crowd excitement. It was just another great environment to get another win.”
Escoto and Carson also contributed to the eight field blocks that the Bruins defense compiled.
“We talked about celebrating field blocks,” Nesmith said. “We wanted to make sure we heard it from the bench amping up on that. That’s a big part of the game, especially in the championship rounds.”
“When you get a shot block you just want to show the other team who’s boss,” Carson said.
Carson showed Ventura who’s boss with five goals in the first half to help Wilson build a 9-2 halftime lead.
Wilson goalkeeper Owen Gurich had nine saves behind a solid defensive effort that came up with seven steals.
Ventura (20-8) was led by Evan Moore’s four goals.
