Written and Photographed by Tue Duong
Feeling optimistic from claiming the Sunset League championship for the first time since 1995, the loss of the first round of CIF on February 15 against Inglewood 72-43, was particularly painful, especially on home court.
Ignited by their first CIF game, Fountain Valley kept a steady pace with Inglewood throughout the first quarter. The game seemed deadlocked at 5-4, Inglewood up at 3:34, with both teams reaping in rebounds and trying to tip the ball in rather than making goals. The first quarter ended with Inglewood up only by a point, 11-10.
With a significant height advantage, Inglewood topped the Barons underneath the basket in rebounds; 31 rebounds would come from Inglewood’s three tallest players: Charlie Lockwood (6’10), Nicholas Smiley (6’7), and Kristopher Randall (6’5). The amount of offensive rebounds from Inglewood was deadly towards the Barons.
Such an advantage Inglewood forced the Barons had to resort to shooting beyond the arch for a number of plays. But the strategy unsuccessful, and the Barons only shot 3 for 18 in three-point range. A significant three-pointer, however, came from Josh Armstrong beating the buzzer at the end of the first half, making the score 32-21.
Even a usually prolific Josh Armstrong struggled to bring points to the table. Averaging 24 points a game during league, he put up 16 points during the game. Jackson Gatlin provided 12 points along with that.
The game was not a shooting spree for for both sides, as each defense was able to counter the other well. Inglewood was only able to slip by the defense more than Fountain Valley and the Barons just couldn’t convert like they usually do.
Coach Roger Holmes said, “It was a big year for Fountain Valley. That game really had nothing to do with the year.”
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