The boys basketball team lost to the Valley Christian Warriors 65-51 in the first game of the CCS open division Championships on Friday night.
The Bears secured the tip-off and started aggressively on offense, with senior shooting guard Trevor Cadigan draining a three-pointer to put the first points on the board. The Warriors responded viciously, dropping multiple three-pointers to give them the upper hand, leaving the Bears down 12-5 at 5:27.
M-A remained active on defense, forcing Valley Christian out of the key and into far, contested shots. With two minutes to go in the quarter, junior point guard Jacob Sutton got fouled on a drive, making both free throws and ramping up the offensive intensity. Consequently, junior small forward Jerry Williams used an in-and-out and hesitation combination to fly by his defender for an open layup. As the clock winded down, the Bears attempted a three-pointer that fell short, leaving them in a 20-11 deficit to finish the first quarter.
Right as the second quarter kicked off, junior power forward Aiden Atkins flawlessly executed an impressive finish. However, the Bears continued to find themselves stuck playing catch-up, with a score of 22-13. Numerous layups and a floater from Cadigan kept the Warriors scrambling on defense. This forced a timeout call from the Warriors at 3:36 with M-A still behind 26-19.
An effective pick-and-roll play left Sutton open for a mid-range jumper, cutting the Warriors’ lead to 26-21. The Bears struggled to put the ball in the hoop towards the end, closing out the half behind 33-22.
The second half began with Valley Christian intercepting M-A’s passes, but the Bears responded by shutting down their fast breaks. M-A flourished on defense, dominating the backboard for rebounds and staying attentive on the helpline. Williams sped up the momentum by drawing multiple charges and knocking down a three-pointer at 5:01, setting the score at 38-27 with M-A trailing behind.
M-A capitalized off of quick buckets from Atkins and junior shooting guard Luca Auer at the blocks, putting the score at 40-31. With one minute left in the third quarter, a crisp downhill pass from Sutton to Williams on a fast-break brought the game to 42-33, with Valley Christian still ahead.
Determined to make a comeback, M-A leveraged their tough defense, forcing the Warriors into flimsy passes and travel calls to eliminate any scoring opportunities. With seven minutes remaining, Williams penetrated the paint, completing a layup through contact and drawing a foul to make it 47-36. Junior shooting guard Axel Pilette and Atkins made several baskets down low, raising the score to 57-44 with 3:47 left in the final quarter.
The Bears’ shots weren’t falling, so they called a timeout to regroup at 2:52. Rejuvenated, Williams quickly put up a two-pointer, keeping Valley Christian alert. The Bears hustled to grab loose balls, and a floater from senior shooting guard Brady Santoro at 1:20 brought the score to 65-49. Despite the Bears’ relentless effort, the game ended with M-A losing 65-51.
“No matter what the score was, we played really hard,” Atkins said. “We played good defense, rebounded the ball well, and got good looks. All around, we played pretty good.”
“We gave it our all. They hit shots, so it was unlucky, but we’ll come back stronger,” Auer said.
“We did well offensively at getting downhill, but I think we can work on our defense,” Williams said.
The Bears will travel to face the Archbishop Riordan Crusaders this Monday at 7:30 p.m.
