With its two top scorers on the bench, the Castillero Middle School boys eighth grade basketball team had its hands full as the Cobras battled Bret Harte in the championship game of the San Jose Unified Middle School postseason tournament.

In the end, though, Castillero was able to scratch and claw its way to a 58-49 victory to claim the league championship.

"It was the subs that won the game for us," Castillero coach Xavier De La Rocha Sr. said. "When I had to pull our two starters out, the subs played the whole second quarter and were able to keep the game close, which is huge against a quality team like Bret Harte." The Broncos led the Cobras just 23-17 at the intermission.

De La Rocha Jr. and Willis returned to start the second half and went to work. De La Rocha poured in 18 of his 23 points in the final two quarters while Willis knocked down nine of his 15 points. Willis was also busy dealing out 11 assists.

Andrew Springer finished in double figures for the Cobras with 12 points. Brian Walsh dropped in six and Mark Higashioka added two.

The Broncos put up a tough fight and still held a 39-37 lead at the end of the third quarter. They were led by Nathan Jones popping in 19 points. Drew Marino and Kyle Hillebrecht tossed in 10 each. Ryan Selness put in five, Seth Anderson added three and Cam Jung hit two.

"Before the game started, I told the guys that if we were going to win, we needed to be on the boards both offensively and defensively," De La Rocha Sr. said. "And we did that in the second half." The Cobras were led by Springer, pulling down 13 boards. De La Rocha Jr. grabbed 11 and Willis got six. "We played great defense in the fourth quarter," the coach added.

Hoover and Steinbeck squared off in the third-place contest and Steinbeck was able to hold on for a 65-54 victory. The sharp shooting of guards Dezmon Hunter and Armando Esparza kept the Hawks in the game.