Following their first Mission League win of the season, the Cubs look to keep their foot on the gas and get another win on Senior Night against the Crespi Celts.
Starting Cubs:
PG: Uri Ferguson, #1, (6’1”, PG, Sr.)
SG: Wyatt Freeark, #21 (6’4”, G/F, Sr.)
SF: Grant “G-Roq” Roquemore, #24 (6’5”, G/F, Sr.)
PF: “Crazy” Christian Sucuveanu, #33 (6’7”, F/C, Sr.)
C: Colby Brooks, #20 (6’7”, C, Sr.)
1st Quarter
Brooks gets the opening tip for the Cubs, but the Celts get a steal but miss a three. They end up striking first with a jumper at the 7:06 mark. A series of turnovers by Uri and layups by the Celts suddenly make it an 8-0 game, prompting Coach Adams to call a timeout at the 5:40 mark. He puts in John Belardi, Jalen Cox, Jack Kresich, and Remington Rofer. After one made free throw by the Celts, they get another opportunity with a jump ball after a scramble for possession with five minutes remaining. The Cubs’ defense improves slightly, holding the Celts scoreless for over a minute. Cox and Rofer get back-to-back swats with 3:50 to go, but can’t capitalize on the other end. The Celts continue their dominance, making a layup to go up 11-0 with three minutes left. G-Roq comes in for Brooks at the 2:50 mark, and scores on a putback layup to give the Cubs their first points of the quarter with 2:18 left. A G-Roq steal leads to a Cox layup, pulling the Cubs within seven with 1:50 remaining. Back-to-back Celts layups bring the deficit back to eleven with 1:17 to go. Kresich is sent to the line at the 1:12 mark, where he makes both free throws to cut the Celts’ lead down to nine.
Score: 15-6 Celts
2nd Quarter
The Cubs begin the quarter with the ball but miss a corner three. The Celts continue to control the game, getting a steal and a layup with seven minutes to go. Belardi makes a pair of free throws at the 6:17 mark, and Brooks and Trent Turner come in for Cox and Belardi. Back-and-forth trips to the line for both teams result in an 18-9 score in favor of the Celts with 5:17 remaining. Consecutive layups by the Celts put the Cubs in a 13-point hole as Coach Adams calls another timeout with 3:20 left. The Cubs fail to put any more points on the board after the timeout, as G-Roq is called for a travel with 3:07 left. Another Cub foul puts the Celts in the bonus and sends them to the line with 2:56 to go. They make both free throws to go up by 15. The Cubs go on a brief 5-0 run with baskets from Rofer and Cox, but a defensive breakdown results in the Celts burying another triple with 1:20 remaining. One of two made free-throws by Belardi makes it a 27-15 Celts lead with 1:12 left. Another Celts layup puts them up 14 with 31 seconds to go.
Score: 29-15 Celts
3rd Quarter
The Celts get the ball to begin the second half. They get their first points of the quarter on a layup with 7:25 to go. Brooks counters with a layup on the other end with 7:25 remaining. After the Celts get another layup, Brooks answers back with a jumper at the 6:40 mark. The score is 33-19 Celts. Kresich’s three-point-play brings the Cubs within eleven once again with 6:05 left, forcing the Celts to call a timeout. The Cubs come out with full-court press that leads to a Celts miss. On the other end, Jack Attack strikes again, forcing his way into the paint for a layup with 5:40 left. The Celts turn it over to the Cubs, and Rofer hits a layup to get the Cubs within seven, 33-26, with 4:40 remaining. The Celts stop the Cubs’ momentum with a layup at the 4:25 mark. They’re sent to the line with 4:10 to go and make one of two. Another three-point play for Kresich keeps the Cubs in the game with 3:38 left. A putback layup by the Celts is answered with a Rofer layup with three minutes left, and the Celts still lead 38-31. A Brooks charge leads to a G-Roq jam, pulling the Cubs within five, 38-33, with 2:05 remaining. The Cubs continue to foul, sending the Celts to the line with two minutes to play in the quarter. They make one of two free throws. The Celts continue to keep their foot on the gas with a layup at the one-minute mark, leading 41-33. Brooks’ putback layup puts the Cubs within six with 35 seconds remaining. The Celts are sent to the line again with 16 seconds left, and hitting both free throws. With time winding down, Kresich buries a wild three at the buzzer to hopefully ignite another Cub run.
Score: 43-38 Celts
4th Quarter
The Cubs begin the final frame with the possession, but again miss a three with 7:30 left. The Celts make another layup with seven minutes to go and once again have a seven-point lead. Brooks is sent to the line with 6:39 remaining. Brooks euro-steps his way to another layup to bring the deficit down to four with 6:10 left. The Celts respond with another layup with 6:04 to play. A battle for possession results in a jump ball to the Celts with 5:47 remaining. The momentum continues to go the Celts’ way, as they make a layup to go up by eight with 5:17 left. Brooks buried a jumper with 4:43 remaining. Back-and-forth buckets from the Celts and Jalen Cox bring the score to a 51-45 with four minutes remaining. Belardi gets a block but commits a foul in the process with 3:48 left. The Celts bury both free throws. Following that, Cox buries a big triple to get the Cubs within five, 53-48, with 3:30 remaining. Cox’s great play continues on the defensive end, with a swat with 2:45 left, and a steal off of the inbound. The Cubs are unable to take advantage of the opportunities to score. The Celts proceed to go on an 8-0 run with layups and free throws. That run is stopped by a Rofer layup with 37 seconds to play. After a pair of Celts free throws, the Senior Night starters come back in with 33 seconds remaining.
FINAL: 63-50 Celts
Cub of the Game
Jack Kresich led the Cubs in scoring with 13 points to go along with six rebounds, four assists, three steals, and two blocks.
The Next Game
The Cubs face the Rolling Hills Prep Huskies in the Rolling Hills Prep State Preview Classic at LA Harbor College on January 25 at 2:00 PM.