The562’s coverage of Cabrillo Athletics is sponsored by the Cohn Family.
The Cabrillo boys’ basketball program is making success the standard, and they were at it again on Wednesday night in their CIF-SS Division 2A playoff opener. The Jags took care of business against the visiting Royal Highlanders, cruising to a 65-38 victory.
Senior forward Mason Johnson finished with a game-high 21 points for the Jaguars, including some thunderous dunks throughout the night. Point guard Lincoln Dean had three triples in the first half on his way to 11 points, and backcourt mate Aden Jones added 11 for Cabrillo.
The game started out as a defensive slugfest, with just a 29-17 Cabrillo advantage going into halftime. Things opened up more in the second half, mostly in favor of Cabrillo, who ended up winning the fourth quarter by a margin of 16-3.
“Hats off to the (Royal) coach. I watched at least seven games, and he’s never played that defense,” explained Cabrillo head coach Chris Spencer. “So we prepped for something else, and as opposed to having something in place, I had to draw up something on the fly. And with anything with kids, it’s going to take a while for it to click, but when it did, I thought we got the looks that we needed to keep them at bay, and that kept the game open.”
Johnson was a matchup nightmare all night long, and whenever he got out into the open floor it was dunk watch in the Cabrillo gym.
“We tell the team all the time, if he’s running that floor like a horse, you got to give him the ball,” Spencer said. “It means the world to our atmosphere. And playing at home, it literally changes the whole game.”
Johnson had a nasty throwdown in the second quarter to get the crowd on their feet, but he almost took the roof off in the fourth quarter. He went up for a lob over the top of a Royal defender, and threw down an alley-oop with his fingertips not even reaching the rim. The home crowd erupted, and it was an emphatic exclamation point on the win.
“We’re all just happy and ready for the next one,” said Johnson after the game. “It’s amazing that we have a home game and can show the westside what we’re really about, and be able to put on for our city. Honestly, we’re just ready for the next one. Another 32, that’s all we want.”
The Jaguars maintained a double-digit lead for the entire second half, then opened the fourth quarter on a 12-0 run to put the game away. The visitors didn’t score for over 4:30 at the start of the fourth as the Jags ran away with it.
Ace Arnold had 13 points to lead the way for Royal while Lucas Markand added 11.
This was win No. 18 for Cabrillo, which matches their program best win total set last season. The Jags won a pair of playoff games to reach the CIF quarterfinals in 2024, and are hoping to have a longer stay in the postseason this time around.
“The great thing is, we’re going to be prepared. I literally have both teams scouted, so I just have to see who won and implement that scout,” Spencer said of the second round matchup. “The biggest thing is just not having those mental lapses. I think we’re notorious for starting slow and in the playoffs, that’ll kill you. You’ve got to take care of guys early and be able to get into a rhythm, to be able to play yourself into a chance to win the game.”
Cabrillo will be back at home on Friday night, taking on Valencia in round two after the Vikings earned a 70-48 win over Walnut. The game is scheduled for a 7 p.m. tipoff.
Photos by Joseph Kling
