By Brandon Nguyen
In a highly anticipated match last Saturday, the boys’ basketball team fought hard but lost in the first round of Division I CIF-SS playoffs against the Loyola Cubs with a final score of 48-56.
Key players include senior Roddie Anderson with 28 points, junior Jeremiah Whitmore with 13 points and sophomore Carter Bryant with 7 points. Anderson and Whitmore led the Barons’ offensive while Bryant kept control of the defensive; Whitmore and Bryant also showed out with dunks. The Cubs’ star player was senior Jalen Cox with 27 points.
“We just didn’t execute the defensive game plan. That’s all it was, lack of detail, lack of focus, that’s all it was,” head coach D’Cean Bryant said. “I give them credit, [Loyola] did what they were supposed to do and they won the game.”
The first quarter started with the Cubs winning the tip. However, Anderson stole the ball twelve seconds in, putting the Barons on offense. At six minutes and 51 seconds, junior Fernando Garcia was fouled on his way up for a layup leading to an argument between him and a Cub. This resulted in another foul for both players.
The game intensified at six minutes and 26 seconds when Bryant attempted an inside pass to Garcia which was intercepted by a Cub. The Barons had trouble with turnovers as Loyola put out an aggressive defense.
At five minutes and 26 seconds, Anderson stole the ball for a fast break leading to the first score of the quarter for the Barons. Whitmore, after a few unsuccessful post-ups, scored a three-pointer at two minutes and 38 seconds leading the Cubs to call a 30-second timeout.
The game remained contentious when the Cubs slammed a dunk at one minute and 37 seconds leading to the Barons calling a full one-minute timeout.
The first quarter ended 5-14.
The second quarter opened with the Barons on offense and Anderson scoring a 3-pointer. At seven minutes and 9 seconds, the Cubs started playing full-court press in attempts to get more turnovers from the Barons.
The Barons started to close the score gap when they broke the press from the Cubs, allowing for Whitmore to make a layup at seven minutes and three seconds. The crowd roared at six minutes when Anderson crossed up a Cub and made a step back leading into a three-pointer.
The game continually got more aggressive when at five minutes and 39 seconds, there was a held ball. At four minutes and five seconds, Whitmore did a power dribble inside the key against a Cub for a layup.
At three minutes and 40 seconds, Anderson did an inside pass to Bryant resulting in a dunk. The game continued with the Cubs being able to maneuver and make jump shots inside the key, while the Barons shot three-pointers. The Barons had their seventh foul at two minutes and 26 seconds when Garcia blocked Loyola’s fast break, making the game enter one-and-one. The second quarter ended 20-26.
“The team kept fighting back––we did well with that. What could have been better was us staying hungry for the win from the start to the finish.” Whitmore said. “I’ve seen players [do exceptionally] on my home floor and will remember that feeling and use it for fuel for next year.”
After halftime, the third quarter started with the Cubs having possession. Anderson made a three-pointer at seven minutes and one second, gaining momentum for his team. The Barons had a renewed strategy swinging the ball and doing lots of pump fakes to find weaknesses in the Cubs’ defense.
Junior JJ Gray blocked a Cub at six minutes and 12 seconds on his way up the basket and Bryant made a three-pointer seven seconds later. The Barons kept up their momentum when Bryant had a backboard block at five minutes and 42 seconds followed by Anderson cuting along the baseline for a layup a few moments later. The Cubs responded with aggressive drives in the basket for layups and outside passes to open shooters.
The Cubs returned to a full-court press at three minutes and 23 seconds to add pressure onto the Barons. At three minutes and 15 seconds, Whitmore fouled with a charge but made up for it with a steal 15 seconds later. Both teams continued with a quick pace up and down the court; Anderson scored a three-pointer at two minutes and 37 seven seconds.
The Cubs’ full-court press gave the Barons trouble as they had multiple turnovers and the Cubs were able to get consecutive rebounds after they shot. The third quarter ended with Anderson making both free throws making the score 34-42.
“We just didn’t play our best and in the playoffs, we have to come prepared. I think we shot the ball pretty well, but we need to stop jumping on layups and start taking more charges,” Whitmore said. “We just gave up a lot of fouls and that’s what hurt us a lot.”
The fourth quarter started out aggressively with the Barons in possession. The Cubs immediately played a full-court press in hopes of maintaining their advantage. At seven minutes and 15 seconds, the ball was lobbed to Whitmore and he scored an and-one but missed the free throw. The Cubs made their seventh foul at six minutes and 42 seconds entering the game into one-and-one.
At five minutes and 11 seconds, Anderson got his fourth foul by blocking a Cub on his way to the basket. A few seconds later, Garcia made his fourth foul when he did an illegal screen. Both players were subbed out to avoid fouling out too early in the period. At three minutes and 31, Cox made his fourth foul resulting in him being subbed out.
With Cox out and Anderson back in the game, the Barons were able to make a quick comeback.
Whitmore made a jump shot at two minutes and 42 seconds and Anderson went on a series of quick drives to the basket. Cox entered back into the game with two minutes left as the game highly intensified with the score gap closing in.
At two minutes, the Barons called a full timeout to discuss purposely fouling in order to create gaps of time. At one minute and 26 seconds, Gray held onto a Cub and did so again 39 seconds later. However, the Cubs were able to make their free throws since the Barons had passed seven fouls and were able to increase their lead.
At 36 seconds, the Barons got a trap on a Cub leading to the Cubs calling a full timeout. The fourth quarter ended with a Cub making both free throws, ending the game 48-56. With this, the boys’ season ends with a record of 12-9 overall and 5-1 in Sunset Surf League.
“We just have to perform better, the guys have to learn, these are mistakes that you can’t just keep making and think that you’re going to win a basketball game,” coach Bryant said. “There is no next game. We’re done so we have to do some exit interviews and then Spring and Summer League to get better for next year.”
