By Kim Ly
In a tense match this Friday night, the boys’ basketball team overpowered the Marina Vikings with a victory of 71-52.
Their victory was attributed to good teamwork and all-around playing from everyone on the court. Some contributing players include junior Roddie Anderson with a game-high of 19 points and 6 rebounds, junior Aden Casarez with 15 points and 3 assists, sophomore Jerry Gray with 10 points and 3 rebounds and senior Preston Amarillo with 6 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists.
“… I think everyone had a notable play. I think everyone did their job; everyone contributed and that’s what got us the win,” Casarez said.
The game opened up with the tip-off going to the Barons, quickly giving Anderson an opening for a layup and letting him score the first point of the match. The rest of the first quarter continued in an intense back-and-forth fight between the two teams. With 1 minute and 27 seconds remaining, the Vikings were seemingly overpowering the Barons until sophomore E.J. Bryson made a layup, tying the score 13-13. The two teams fought for the ball in the remaining minute until the quarter ended 17-13 in favor of the Barons.
“We came out aggressive—we definitely came out with high energy off the bench. Defensively, we were communicating well and we just stuck to the game plan,” Bryson said.
Going into the second quarter, neither team was able to make a major detriment in the small point gap. Both teams steadily scored, though, the Barons were pulling ahead. Casarez made two 3-pointers near the end of the quarter; one with 2 minutes and 48 seconds remaining and the other with 49 seconds left. As the clock ticked down to two seconds, Anderson quickly made a layup, letting the boys go into halftime 34-25.
After halftime, both teams came back onto the court with high tension and a strong desire to win. The first point of the quarter went to sophomore MaCarhy Morris, making the score 36-25. As the third quarter continued, the boys kept up a strong defense to keep the Vikings from scoring.
“… we executed defensively very well and that was the game plan for today,” assistant coach Timicha Kirby said.
Their focus on defense ultimately worked out in their favor; they prevented the Vikings from making multiple layups and 3-pointers. The third quarter ended 48-39.
The tension only continued to grow in the fourth quarter as both sides played very aggressively. The Barons began to steadily widen the point gap; additional 3-pointers from Casarez and Gray helped push the boys in farther into the lead. With 5 minutes and 20 seconds remaining, senior Jeremiah Davis made a fast break down the court and subsequently dunked, bringing the score to 60-44.
The boys maintained this lead until the final seconds of the game, winning with a victory of 71-52.
“… we expected [the match] to be a dog fight. We knew they wanted to beat us really bad, I mean, the past two years we’ve been playing them, every game’s been a battle and they brought it but we just outplayed them,” Casarez said.
Their next game will be a Sunset League match at home against Corona Del Mar on May 18 at 7 p.m.
