By Kim Ly
This Wednesday, the boys’ basketball team went head-to-head against the Laguna Beach Breakers, winning with a final score of 49-44; this was the boys’ basketball team’s first win against Laguna Beach for the first time in three years. The game was defined by free throws and an intense back-and-forth between the two teams.
“We knew it was going to be a tough game, we’ve lost to [Laguna Beach] three years in a row [and got] our first win [tonight]. They’re a really good team so we knew we had to come with our best,” junior Roddie Anderson said.
Anderson led today’s match with a game-high of 26 points, 8 rebounds and 4 steals. Other notable players include seniors Jeremiah Davis with 8 points, 7 rebounds and 3 assists and Preston Amarillo with 7 points and 4 rebounds.
The match opened up with the tip-off in favor of the Barons, only for the first few points to go to Laguna Beach. Both teams played very aggressively, with the ball constantly switching possession. The Breakers made multiple fouls throughout the first quarter; with 3 minutes and 27 seconds remaining, Amarillo gained two free throws which he made both of. The first quarter ended 11-13 with the Barons down by two points.
The second quarter wasn’t any different and both teams continued playing relentlessly. The Breakers were still in the lead and the Barons struggled to catch up; the point gap remained small throughout as both sides ruthlessly defended the opposing team from scoring. More fouls from Laguna Beach allowed the Barons to make several free throws. With 42 seconds left in the quarter, Anderson scored a single free throw, letting the Barons go into halftime tied with a score of 20-20.
Following halftime, the boys returned with higher energy and high hopes of breaking away from the small point margin.
“… we got all the shots that we wanted to get, they just didn’t fall in the first half. [In the] second half, the kids locked down and focused and we made all of our free throws and clutch shots,” assistant coach A.J. Gasporra said.
The first point of the third quarter went to Anderson with a layup. A few moments later with 5 minutes and 23 seconds remaining, Anderson scored again with an impressive dunk, further pushing the Barons into the lead. After extremely fierce fighting for the ball and countless free throws, the third quarter ended 36-30.
“We weren’t shooting well so then we picked it up on defense and started getting [defensive] stops late in-game; we just hustled every play,” Anderson said.
Going into the fourth quarter, both sides were filled with tension and a strong desire to win. A combination of well-executed defense and offense allowed for the boys to further their lead; as the quarter came to its halfway mark, they got ahead 43-33. Though, due to several fouls from the Barons, the Breakers steadily caught up. With 1 minute and 25 seconds remaining, the score stood at 45-41.
Both sides called multiple time-outs during the last minute of the game. Ultimately, with 4.2 seconds left, Davis made the final free throw, ending the game in favor of the Barons 49-44.
With this victory against Laguna Beach, the boys are now 9-2 in their season; they’ve won all of their Sunset League matches and their two losses are a result of non-league games.
“We had two rough games but for the rest of the season, our plan is to not lose anymore … finish our league with an undefeated [season] and hopefully make a round in the playoffs,” Amarillo said.
Their next game will be a Sunset League match against Marina High School on Friday at 7 p.m.
