The562’s coverage of Cabrillo Athletics is sponsored by the Cohn Family.
The562’s coverage of Lakewood Athletics is sponsored by J.P. Crawford, Class of 2013.
After the opening quarter, it was clear the Cabrillo and Lakewood boys’ basketball teams were in for a good one in the Tim Sweeney Gymnasium. With both teams desperate for a win, Cabrillo came out on top with a 69-59 victory on Wednesday night.
“We knew we would all beat each other up and that it would be a gauntlet, so the teams that emerge are ready for the playoffs,” said Cabrillo coach Chris Spencer. “That’s the Moore League game.”
An early run from Cabrillo had them in the lead for the majority of the first quarter until a buzzer beater from just in front of the arc was sunk by Keaton Lewis, tying up the score at 10-10. Although the Lancers kept this momentum into the second quarter, creating a gap of 28-24 in their favor, Cabrillo pulled away in the second half.
“It’s a Moore league game, we’re desperate and we’re looking for a win,” said Lakewood coach Duane Cooper.
After losing to Wilson earlier in the week, Lakewood was looking to turn their luck around. With league standings as a big stresser for both teams, the two put all they had into this game, leaving no room for either school to pull away with the largest run of the night being six points.
The Lancers’ worthy fight against the Jaguars was led by their top scorer Kecedrick Dockery who put up a total of 20 points during the game. The team also benefited from the help of Keaton Lewis who tied the Jaguar’s lead in the first quarter with a buzzer beater and ended a Jaguar run of four in the first two minutes of the third quarter.
The Jaguars’ performance was highlighted by their top scorer Lincoln Dean who put up a total of 18 points and blocked two layups in the first quarter.
“He’s just a Swiss army knife. You could put him on a guard, he guards bigs, rebounds above his size, and is really athletic, he finished the game with four dunks,” said Spencer.
The Jaguars saw a shift in momentum after the second quarter where they turned their four point disadvantage into a gap of six points in their favor, then into ten points by the end. This momentum was led by an early showing of Kinsey Obue in the first 20 seconds of the third quarter, starting their run with a dunk.
“Things changed because of my guy Kinsie, I gotta give him props today because he had the most energy on the starting lineup,” said Jags captain Lincoln Dean. “His energy carried over into the next three quarters, that’s how we picked it up.”
Going into the fourth quarter, Lakewood had an obvious intention to bridge the gap between the two team’s score. This desire was shown by the Lancers’ playmaking where they took possession of the ball multiple times only to be stopped by Cabrillo’s defense.
“We wanted to make it tougher on them and make (them) have to think more,” said Spencer.
A battle at the Lancers’ net put stress on the team and out came Obue who ended the early drought in the second minute of the fourth quarter giving a lead of eight points to the Jaguars.
Cabrillo (12-9, 2-4) is looking to set up a string of wins which they hope will be continued by their game hosting Jordan on January 23rd while Lakewood (12-10, 3-4) will be looking to redeem themselves in their game at Poly on January 24th.
