Following a convincing win over Menlo-Atherton, the Cubs looked to increase their win streak to four as they took on the Monte Vista Mustangs.

Starting Cubs:

PG: John Belardi, #12 (6’3”, G, Jr.)

SG: Andre Parris, #13 (6’3”, G/F, Sr.)

SF: Jack Kresich, #10 (6’3”, F, Jr.)

PF: Remington Rofer, #35 (6’8”, F/C, Jr.)

C: Colby Brooks, #20 (6’7”, C, Sr.)

1st Quarter

Brooks won the opening tip for the Cubs.  Immediately, the Mustangs stole the ball and got a layup to take an early 2-0 lead on the Cubs with 7:40 to go.  The Mustangs did not stop there, as they buried back-to-back threes and suddenly led 8-0 with 5:50 remaining. The Cubs got on the board with a three by Kresich at the 4:52 mark.  A hectic Mustang possession got the Cubs the ball on the sideline with 3:43 to go, but they failed to score. The Mustangs hit another layup to go up 10-3 with 3:14 left. Parris got a steal and an and-1 layup with 2:46 to go.  Uri Ferguson and Grant Roquemore checked in for Rem and Belardi. The Mustangs still led 10-6. They increased their lead off of two free throws with 2:28 left. Ferguson made a layup at the 2:15 mark and the Cubs only trailed by 4.  Despite great Cubs defense, the Mustangs drew a foul and made both free throws to once again go up by eight. Kresich cruised his way to another layup at the 1:20 mark, bringing the game to a 14-10 deficit in favor of Monte Vista. The Cubs got a steal on the next possession, but a travel by Brooks gave the ball back to the Mustangs with 59 seconds to go.  Jalen Cox checked in for Andre Parris. Another Mustang triple put the Cubs in a 7-point hole with 35 seconds left. An offensive foul was called on the Cubs with five seconds left, and Christian Sucuveanu came in for Brooks. Cox got a steal off of the Mustangs inbound pass, leading to a Kresich layup to beat the buzzer.

Score: 17-12 Mustangs

2nd Quarter

A Cox carry gave the ball back to the Mustangs, but they were unable to capitalize on the possession after they lost the ball out of bounds with 7:40 remaining.  A scoring drought from both teams was halted when the Mustangs went on a 10-0 run. That run was stopped by a Brooks layup at the 2:26 mark. Parris got another layup to fall with 1:35 to go.  The Mustangs led 27-16. They buried another three to take a 30-16 lead with 1:15 remaining. Rofer countered with a three of his own, but the Cubs still trailed 30-19 with 55 seconds to go. Brooks got a block on the other end, and the Mustangs missed two layups with 26 seconds left.  Parris made a putback layup off of a missed jumper by Ferguson with three seconds left to come within nine at the break.

Score: 30-21 Mustangs

3rd Quarter

The Mustangs got the ball to begin the second half and turned it over to the Cubs with 7:47 left.  Kresich’s jumper gave the Cubs their first points of the quarter with 7:30 remaining. The Mustangs were sent to the line at the 7:07 mark and made one of two free throws.  Brooks was fouled and made one of two free throws with 5:47 left. The Mustangs led 31-24. Brooks hit another layup to get the Cubs within five with 5:16 remaining. The Mustangs struck again, making another layup to gain a 7-point edge over the Cubs 33-26.  A corner three by Brooks brought the deficit within four, 33-29, with 4:30 left. Brooks’s strong play continued, as he was fouled while making a layup. He missed the following free throw but brought the Cubs within two with 3:55 to go. The Mustangs were back at the line again and made one of two free throws with 3:34 remaining.  The Mustangs’ defense showed again, as they got another steal and layup to go up by five, 36-31, with 3:15 remaining. Kresich’s layup brought the Cubs back within striking distance with 2:40 left in the period. Kresich blocked the Mustangs’ three-point attempt. The Mustangs retained possession with 2:09 to go but missed a three. A Mustang jumper put them up by five with 1:36 left.  The Cubs would not go away, as Brooks’ and-1 jumper cut the lead to two once again. The Mustangs buried another jumper with 1:04 remaining and led 40-36. Brooks was sent to the line once again, where he swished both free throws with 56 seconds to go. The Mustangs swished another jumper to go up by four with 30 seconds left. A Kresich turnover ended the quarter.

Score: 42-38 Mustangs

4th Quarter

The Cubs came out in the final frame with a ton of energy.  Jalen Cox’s huge triple brought the Cubs within one, 42-41, with 7:15 remaining.  After another scoring drought, the Mustangs splashed a triple to go up 45-41 with six minutes left.  Brooks answered with a three of his own at the 5:40 mark. Cox’s two made free throws gave the Cubs their first lead, 46-45, 5:06 remaining.  Great defense by Cox led to a Rofer charge with 4:52 to play. Rofer was fouled at the 4:18 mark and made both free throws to increase the Cubs’ lead to three.  Roquemore’s steal and layup gave the Cubs a five-point lead, 50-45, with under three minutes left. The 9-0 Cubs’ run was stopped with a Mustangs layup to come within three with 2:15 to play.  The Cubs entered the bonus with a foul at the 1:58 mark. Brooks made both free throws and the Cubs led by seven. Off of a missed Mustang three, Brooks got a rebound but was immediately doubled, so Rofer called a timeout with 27 seconds to play.  Out of the timeout, Rofer was sent to the free throws line, where he made both to put the Cubs up 54-47 with 22 seconds left. The Mustangs were not conceding yet, as they drilled a triple with 11 seconds left to come within four. Parris made both free throws with nine seconds left, sealing the Cubs’ fourth straight victory.

FINAL: 56-50 Cubs

Postgame

With regards to their strong second half, assistant coach Frank Peters said, “Coach [Adams] was the catalyst.  We really concentrated on defensive principles more than worrying about offense. That’s when we started coming back and making a difference.”  The motto for the Cubs this year has been improving every month. Peters said the team has improved on their defense. “Defense is what we’ve improved on from the very beginning, and we’re still building,” Peters said.  “We’re not all the way there yet but we’re still building.”

Cox said that last year’s semifinals loss in the tournament motivated them to come out with a strong second-half performance.

Cub of the Game

The Cub of the Game was Jalen Cox, who provided the Cubs with outstanding defense and clutch buckets down the stretch.  Coach Peters said, “Jalen acted as a senior. He had mental toughness and didn’t get shaky when times got tough. He played well, played within himself, and we’re very proud of him.”  Cox stated that the key to his performance was his teammates. He said, “They picked me up when I was down and told me to keep pushing. That gave me enough motivation to lead to my performance.”

Cox said the key to keeping his strong play consistent is communication.  “Helping out other players, telling them where they need to go and who they need to guard is going to be key to our success.”

The Next Game

The Cubs face the St. Ignatius College Prep Wildcats in the championship game of the Sand Dune Classic tomorrow at 5:00 pm.