The562’s coverage of Cabrillo Athletics is sponsored by the Cohn Family.
There will never truly be a perfect performance in sports, but it would be hard to critique Cabrillo’s performance on Friday night as they held Millikan to a season low in scoring during an all-around dominant 57-25 victory.
The win gives the Jags’ sole possession of fourth place in the Moore League and they’ll have an opportunity to clinch that spot and a guaranteed trip to the playoffs when they host Wilson on Monday at 7pm.
“We’re fighting for our life, that’s it,” said Cabrillo coach Chris Spencer. “We’re playing like a team with desperation and that’s what we showed today. Just a lot of grit and grind. I thought they followed the game plan flawlessly tonight.”
Spencer and his Jags’ have caught stride as the month of January has gone on, and it’s safe to say they’re not the same team who lost to Millikan by ten points just two weeks ago. Cabrillo has since overcome injuries and illness while gaining more playing time with sit-out-period transfers, and the combination of both availability and energy was on full display in their dominant showing at Millikan.
“This is about our third game with all of our guys healthy and available,” Spencer said. “The last time we played them Kinsey Obue wasn’t available and he was a huge part of our game plan. So having him available and with guys being up, the guys weren’t moping, they were starting chants, it was just a different energy than we’ve had all year and we want to build on that.”
Obue was especially helpful on defense this time around against Millikan’s strong backcourt trio of Joseph Wicker, Jeremiah Hunt, and Tariq Bridges, the three of which Cabrillo keyed in on and looked to pressure. The Jags’ only gave up 12 of Millikan’s 25 points to the three on Friday night, a much improved mark down to the 69 points they accounted for in the pair’s first matchup .
“Last time we allowed those guys to dictate. They’re way too good if you allow those guys to pick their spots and get where they’re going so we had to take the fight to them,” Spencer said. “I told them to play up, play often, that we’re gonna have guys to help. I told them we were gonna make them throw the ball to the other guys and see if they can make enough plays to beat us because we’ve seen that the other three can make enough plays to beat us.”
That tenacious defense along with a well orchestrated offensive performance allowed the Jags’ to pull away on a 15-4 run to open the first quarter. Senior captain Lincoln Dean made back-to-back threes within that run, and said that it was important for his Jags’ to send a message early in the game.
“Our mental has changed and we’ve just relied on teamwork and followed the game plan tonight,” said Dean, who finished with a game-high 22 points on 7/13 shooting. “We felt like winners tonight. We came into the building feeling like the best team and we followed the game plan from the start.”
Dean poured on 10 of his 16 first-half points in the second quarter, and seemed to be on the forefront of every Cabrillo run. The Jags’ handful of runs were powered by second chance opportunities and timely shots, including a 23-0 scoring run within the second half to give them their biggest lead of 36 points. The Jags’ also allowed just six points in the entire second half.
Mason Johnson was a huge contributor for Cabrillo from inside the paint on both ends and finished with 15 points on 7/13 shooting with 14 rebounds. Johnson was among the starters to get subbed out at the three minute mark after helping cushion the Jags’ second half lead.
“It was just a bunch of communication, following the game plan and just listening and talking to each other. It was just about being in the right spot, the right position, flying around and rotating and doing everything we had to do,” tributed Johsnon of his team’s success. “We’re feeling good and we’re really confident right now and staying humble about everything. We just gotta keep pushing.”
After the game, tension boiled down between a handful of coaches and fans inside of the gym, but cooler heads would prevail in little to no time. Spencer commented about the tension between the two familiar coaching staffs and fan bases following the game, saying that it makes the games feel even more like a must win.
“There’s a lot of familiarity. I’m good friends with the coach. Me and their assistant coach work out, so you don’t wanna lose to those guys,” he said. “You get beat twice to them in a year and that’s bragging rights last a long time until next december so we wanted to make sure to take care of the split and play a better second half of the Moore League.”
The Rams still sit comfortably at second place in the Moore League and they’ll close out their regular season at Compton on Tuesday. Cabrillo will host its potential fourth place clinching matchup against Wilson on Monday.
