By Kim Ly
This Thursday night, the boys’ basketball team defeated the Huntington Beach Oilers 59-41, making them Sunset Wave League champions. They have a record of 12-2 overall and were undefeated in league this season.
“All of our kids just worked hard over the summer and we just said hey, this year [is] just about standing in the moment and we’re gonna take them one game at a time,” head coach D’Cean Bryant said. “We’re not gonna get caught up in what could be or what should be. We’re gonna do it right now—we’re gonna be intentional about what we do and we’re gonna worry about ourselves; no disrespect to any other team.”
This has been their first league win since 2013.
“It feels good [to win Sunset League undefeated]. It shows everyone how much hard work we put in—how much time we spend in the gym. We trust each other and play as a team,” senior Jeremiah Davis said.
Davis led today’s match with a game-high of 22 points and made an additional five rebounds. Other notable players include junior Roddie Anderson with 10 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists, senior Preston Amarillo with five points, six rebounds and five assists and sophomore Jerry Gray with six points and three rebounds.
The match started off with the tip-off and first shot going to the Barons. The clock stood at six minutes and 20 seconds when Anderson made the first point of the match with a simple jump shot. A mere minute later, junior Aden Casarez gained two free throws which he made both of, putting the score at 4-2. The boys continued to steadily rack up points on the scoreboard throughout the quarter with layups and jump shots. With a final layup from sophomore Elijah Nelson, the quarter ended 21-10.
The second quarter opened up with neither team being able to gain any points. The scoreboard stood stagnant for several minutes until sophomore Fernando Garcia made a layup, making the score 23-10 with five minutes and 42 seconds on the clock. A minute later at four minutes and 21 seconds, Gray made a 3-pointer, furthering the Barons’ lead. Though, the Oilers were slowly catching up with several 3-pointers of their own. Nevertheless, the boys maintained their lead and went into half-time 28-20.”
“We could’ve improved a little bit on our defense and communicating…but I feel like we improved on ball-handling and making the right reads,” Davis said.
After halftime, the Barons came back with higher energy and stronger resolve. The third quarter opened up with a free throw at seven minutes and 27 seconds for sophomore MaCarhy Morris; he made one out of his two free throws, making the score 29-20.
After this, the boys began to pick up their pace and widen the point gap. A short moment later, Anderson made a lay-up followed by Davis with a 3-pointer. A timeout was called with two minutes and 48 seconds remaining whilst the scoreboard stood at 38-24 in favor of the Barons.
In the final seconds of the third quarter, Davis scored two back-to-back 3-pointers, letting the boys go into the final quarter 44-26.
At the beginning of the fourth quarter, the Barons gave up a few points to the Oilers; Huntington Beach was steadily catching up. Though, the tides began to shift after an impressive block from Amarillo at five minutes and 31 seconds; the scoreboard stood at 44-31. The boys reaffirmed their defense and made several 3-pointers and layups allowing for them to further their lead. The game came to a slow end and the boys won with a victory of 59-41.
“[We had] a good start. [A] sloppy second quarter, but then we finished the game pretty strong,” Amarillo said.
The Barons are set off to play in the California Interscholastic Federation-Southern Section playoffs in the following weeks.
“We’ll deal with it one game at a time…we’ll see what tomorrow brings and when we get to whenever our game is, we’ll deal with [it] that day. But for right now, we’re gonna get mentally prepared, get [our] guys rested, get them taken care of and go from there,” Bryant said.
The boys’ basketball team will play their final game of the season this Saturday away at 12 p.m. against Westminster High School.
