By Candice Tran
On Wednesday, Jan. 11, the Barons’ boys varsity basketball team fell short in a compelling game against the Los Alamitos Griffins with a final score of 56-61.
While everyone played their roles in the matchup, standout players were senior JJ Gray with 17 points, senior Fernando Garcia with 13 points and junior Colin Risse with 11 points.
“Everybody played really well. I mean JJ and Fernando really battled those guys,” head coach Roger Holmes said. “[Los Alamitos is] the eighth [ranked] team in the county. They’re very good. We played them pretty close all the way through.”
Despite the Griffins contributing to the first points of the game, Risse responded with a corner three-pointer to give the Barons the lead of 3-2. After Los Alamitos scored a few more baskets, Gray assisted Risse in the same corner for another three-point shot. With five minutes left in the first quarter, the Griffins led with a score of 6-10.
The Barons had no trouble closing the gap in the score. With the third three-pointer for the team, Gray got a pass from junior Parker Rodriguez and sank the shot from the wing. A minute later, Risse pulled up to the top of the key and made another three-point basket. The score was tied at the three-minute mark.
As a result of tough defense by the Griffins, the Barons created several turnovers—some converting to fastbreak points by Los Alamitos. At the sound of the buzzer, the first quarter ended with Los Alamitos leading 12-18.
“Colin had a lot of good shots that we really needed. [JJ Gray and Colin Risse] both stepped up big time and they hit a lot of crucial shots for us,” Garcia said.
In the second quarter, both teams battled defensively and offensively. The Griffins started the quarter with an easy basket, but Gray and senior Ethan Huynh answered back, decreasing Los Alamitos’ lead to just three points (17-20).
In the last four minutes of the half, Gray and Huynh secured more points along with a free throw by sophomore Troy Leach. The Barons’ strong ball movement allowed them to keep up with the Griffins. While the clock ran below a minute, Gray dumped the ball to Garcia, who was posting up. After the score by Garcia, the first half concluded with a score of 25-29.
To start the half, Los Alamitos scored a quick layup after a steal, but in the next play, Risse tried a pump fake to a pull-up mid-range shot and made the basket. During the next few minutes, fouls were exchanged by both teams, enabling free throws to be made on both sides (29-37). The Barons turned the ball over a few times before finding their shots.
With the same pick-and-roll play from Gray to Garcia, Garcia made two baskets off the bank. To add to their score, Rodriguez made a three-pointer from the wing, followed by sophomore Devin Payne’s layup on the drive. While the Barons had many points, the Griffins found their groove as well, now with a lead of 11 points as the third quarter ended. The score sat at 40-51.
Gray led the game at the start of the fourth quarter with two back to back three-pointers to boost his team’s score. Just plays after, Garcia put the ball back up three times with one basket converting to an and-one. This helped the Barons catch up to the Griffins, the score being 53-55, with the Barons being down just two points.
The Barons had momentum as the crowds’ cheer overflowed the gym. After the Barons called a timeout, they attempted to score on the inbound, but the defense by the Griffins was too tight. The clock kept ticking as the Barons fouled to get their opponents into bonus, forcing free throws for the Griffins. Unfortunately for the Barons, the Griffins made all of their free throws, pushing the score to 53-61 with 24 seconds left on the clock. Leach took one final attempt at scoring with a layup for the Barons, but the game ended. Los Alamitos High School came out victorious—the final score being 56-61.
The Barons fought earnestly to get their first league game win, but an efficient defense and good ball movement were not enough to pull over the Griffins.
“We gotta take care of the ball more. We played soft and had too many turnovers,” Gray said. “We expected to win. It was our first league game. Now we have to get Marina.”
The Barons play their next game on Friday, Jan. 13 away at Marina High School against the Vikings at 7 p.m.
