Salinas-Piedmont Hills boys hoops

Central Coast Section Division I Semifinals
Wednesday's game
No. 5 Salinas (17-9) at No. 1 Piedmont Hills (23-2), 5:30 p.m.
 Facing the top seeded team is a challenge in itself. Facing them on their court is another obstacle in the Cowboys path.
 Salinas is no stranger to this team, having beaten Piedmont Hills 52-48 in the quarterfinals in 2015, enroute to reaching the Division I title game.
 What the Cowboys should have coming into this battle is momentum after stunning rival Alisal last Saturday at the very same site.
 Then again how much does Salinas have left in the tank after such an emotional buzzer beating win?
 Champions of the Blossom Valley Mt. Hamilton Division, the Pirates have suffered just two losses all year -- one by four points and the other by three overtime.
 It humbled Palma by 15 and beat Carmel by 13 back in December, and coasted to a 21 point win over Santa Clara last Saturday.
 Salinas will have to contain 6-foot-4 Demarri Floyd in the paint and neutralize point guard Brandon Lowe, or it could be a long night.
 What you get with the Cowboys is balance. You can't focus on one individual, as evident by Kasey Cannon scoring the game winning basket last Saturday.
 Jarrett Edria has been the spark offensively. Yet AJ Saldana and JoJo Paris have risen to the occasion in big moments while Caden Batista has been a defensive demon.