By Kim Ly
This Tuesday night, the boys’ basketball team defeated the Corona del Mar (CdM) Sea Kings in a victory of 62-39. This was also the boys’ senior night and before the game, they held a short but sweet ceremony for seniors Jeremiah Davis, Jacob Oros, John Kubas, and Preston Amarillo.
“For the seniors, it’s been a long time coming. I mean, those guys have been here since day one where we went through our hard times, and sometimes we’re not sure if we’re gonna be good but, you know, a lot of those guys have been here. So, my hats off to them—I thank them,” head coach D’Cean Bryant said. “… no words can really explain cause they’ll always be family … So my hats off to those guys and I don’t want it to end yet, so we’ll keep on going as far as we can.”
After the celebration, the game started off with the tip-off in favor of the Barons. However, the first point went to CdM with a layup. Though, the boys’ followed up CdM’s layup with multiple successful shots; the seniors were on fire with 3-pointers tonight. Kubas made the Barons’ first point with a 3-pointer. Amarillo soon followed him with two 3-pointers of his own.
In the final minute of the quarter, Davis made two 3-pointers, one with 45 seconds remaining and another with 3 seconds. With these 3-pointers, the first quarter ended 23-13 in favor of the Barons.
The second quarter opened with junior Roddie Anderson making the first shot for the Barons with sophomore E.J. Bryson who accompanied him with a layup soon after. With 6 minutes and 56 seconds on the clock, the score stood at 27-13. The Barons’ points would remain stagnant for the remainder of the quarter as the Sea Kings steadily caught up. Ultimately, the game went into halftime with a score of 27-20.
“We just gotta be better at transition defense, half-court defense, rebounding the ball—a little bit of everything. We gotta get back to our fundamentals … Once our fundamentals get better, we’ll be fine,” Bryant said.
Going in the third quarter, both teams continued rapidly playing, though neither side was able to create a major gap in the points. With 6 minutes and 50 seconds on the clock, a steal from Amarillo who then subsequently passed to Davis allowed for him to make a layup, putting the score at 31-20.
As the third quarter went on, the Barons continued to steadily score until the quarter ended 43-25.
The final quarter was no different from the previous ones; the game continued at its fast pace. Throughout this quarter, the boys lit up the scoreboard with multiple 3-pointers. With 6 minutes and 41 seconds on the clock, junior Aden Casarez made the first successful shot of the quarter with a 3-pointer, making the score 46-27. Following him with 3 minutes and 52 seconds remaining, Oros made two back-to-back 3-pointers, effectively lighting up both the bench and the audience.
The game came to an end with a final score of 62-39; this victory continues the Barons’ undefeated streak in the Sunset Surf League and 11-2 overall.
After the game, the seniors recounted their experience playing basketball at Fountain Valley High School (FVHS) and gave some advice to underclassmen who are interested in joining the team or playing basketball.
Jeremiah Davis
“The experience [playing basketball at FVHS] is great. The fanbase is good, the coaching staff is great—they make you feel comfortable; they don’t leave you out or anything … the teammates are just good people overall.”
For those interested in getting into basketball, Davis recommends staying persistent and disciplined.
“Just keep working on your off-time … just to get better every day cause that’s what the coaches here expect for you to do and to not just practice at school one time a day. At least get an extra workout as practice, or on a free day, go to the gym and get exercise.”
Jacob Oros
“You gotta work hard … that’s the number one key [thing]. You have to have discipline no matter [what]. If you don’t wanna work out, those are the times you need to work out.”
John Kubas
“Just have fun with the sport … We’re serious but we make a great time doing everything we have here.”
Preston Amarillo
“[Playing basketball at FVHS] has honestly been the best experience of my life with all the coaches always helping me out.”
Amarillo agrees with his teammates’ sentiments and recommends those interested in the sport to have a strong work ethic.
“If you really want to play basketball and eventually play in college, I’d say to just work hard … It really is just a grind so if you really want it, you just gotta work hard every day.”
The boys’ next game and final Sunset Surf League match will be away against Huntington Beach High School on Thursday at 7 p.m.
