By Lylyan Yenson, Staff Writer
With a strong offense and great teamwork, the varsity boys’ basketball team pulled through with a victory of 60-52 against the Marina Vikings.
“We’re still young, our guards are young, we’re still trying to figure each other out, but tonight everything added up. The rebounding, the talking on defense, the little things added up and that was the difference in tonight’s game. All those little things added up,” said coach D’Cean Bryant.
The Barons started the game with a strong offense by seniors Garrett Young and Severo De la Riva scoring the first few points for the Barons. Freshman Rodrick Anderson followed through with an impressive steal and quick turnover to give the Barons a solid lead. The boys showed off their teamwork and communication with multiple assists and strong plays.
With only one foul by the Barons and two by the Vikings, the first quarter came to an end with the Barons leading 21-12.
Although the Barons manage a steal and several rebounds, Marina’s strengthened offense in the second semester narrowed the score gap. Their comeback is short lived as the Barons pick up the defense to stay ahead and end halftime with a score of 32-25.
Both teams fought for the ball in a back-and-forth game but Marina broke through the Barons defense and slowly caught up. A quick timeout by the Barons seem to boost their spirits; starting with a rebound by sophomore Jeremiah Davis and a steal by Anderson, the boys managed to come together and score several points, giving them a bigger lead.
Davis and Anderson lead the boys through the third quarter with quick steals and multiple fouls. Despite the slow start, their defense is able to remain strong and end the quarter with a lead of 43-35.
“They trusted each other that was a big thing tonight. They all trusted each other. They made the extra pass whether the ball went in or not, we just trusted each other on both sides,” said Bryant. The teamwork and communication between the team was their greatest weapon and Bryant believes that their trust and faith in each other was what made the team work.
In the final quarter, the Barons started off strong with a three-pointer by freshman Aden Casarez. The team’s powerful offense widened the gap between their scores as Barons manage to break through the Vikings defense. With several timeouts by both teams, the quarter seems to come to a slow end with multiple fouls from both sides.
The Barons manage to stay ahead of the Vikings throughout the game and ended with a victory of 60-52.
After the Barons’ great performance against Marina, they head into Friday’s game against Huntington Beach High School with a strong mindset and an even stronger team.
“Everybody just did their job and that is honestly the difference. Everybody that came in tonight, whether they played 30 seconds, 10 minutes, or 15 minutes they did their job,” said Bryant.
