Coming off of a dominating 63-44 win over Muir, the Cubs looked to add another one in the win column as they faced the Culver City Centaurs in the fourth game of the Rose City Roundball Classic at Maranatha High School.

Starting Cubs:

PG: John Belardi, #12 (6’3”, Jr., PG)

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

SF: Jack Kresich, #10 (6’7”, Jr., F)

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

C: Colby Brooks, #20 (6’7”, Sr., C)

1st Quarter

Brooks won the opening tip for the Cubs, and buckets from Andre Parris and Brooks gave the Cubs an early 4-0 lead with seven minutes to go.  The Centaurs scored their first points of the game on a three, and the Cubs led 4-3 with 6:47 remaining. Brooks made a bad pass leading to an opportunity for the Centaurs, who missed a jumper at the 6:19 mark.  Belardi grabbed the offensive rebound and was fouled at the 5:12 mark, resulting in a side-out-of-bounds possession for the Cubs. Remington Rofer’s two put the Cubs up 6-3 with five minutes remaining. Off of a Centaurs miss, Rofer and Brooks both went up for the rebound, but end up turning the ball over back to the Centaurs.  The costly turnover resulted in the Centaurs tying the game up at six with a three at the 4:30 mark. The first substitution for the Cubs came at the 4:15 mark when Uriel Ferguson entered the game for John Belardi. Andre Parris got a chase-down swat with 3:56 to go. The Centaurs attained their first lead of the game with a three with 3:40 left.  Parris’ triple tied the game again at 9 with 3:20 remaining. Another Centaurs three gave them a 12-9 lead with 2:45 left. Brooks’ two got the Cubs within one with 2:25 remaining in the quarter. Grant Roquemore checked in for Jack Kresich with 2:18 left. With 2:08 to go, the Centaurs buried a jumper to go up 14-11 on the Cubs. A kicked ball by the Centaurs gave the ball back to the Cubs with 2:02 remaining.  With a stoppage in the game, Jalen Cox checked in for Andre Parris. Brooks swished a three to tie the game at 14 with 1:43 left. Christian Sucuveanu checked in for Rofer at the 1:38 mark. Great ball movement led to “Crazy Christian” going to the free-throw line, where he made one of two to give the Cubs a 15-14 lead with 1:10 left in the opening period. Roquemore’s layup increased the Cubs’ lead to three, 17-14 with 40 seconds left.  Two Centaurs free-throws brought them within one with 17 seconds left. Sucuveanu swished a jumper at the buzzer to end the quarter.

Score: 19-16 Cubs

2nd Quarter

The Cubs opened up the second quarter with a jumper from Belardi at the 7:23 mark.  Roquemore wrestles for the ball, and the Centaurs player stepped out of bouds, giving the Cubs another possession.  Roquemore’s two increased the deficit to 7, 23-16, with 6:46 left. The Centaurs scored their first points of the game off of a two-pointer.  The Cubs still led 23-18 with 6:08 to go. Cox was fouled at the 5:57 mark, and made one of two free throws. The Cubs were scrambling on defense, but were bailed out by a Centaurs travel with 5:33 remaining.  After Brooks made one of two free throws, Belardi grabbed the offensive rebound and dished it off to Rofer for two. The Cubs led 27-18 with 4:50 to go. The Centaurs responded with two of their own, bringing the deficit back to seven.  The Cubs transition offense got Kresich an easy layup with 2:52 left in the first half. Their defense showed out, forcing another Centaur turnover. The Cubs defense continued on a roll as they forced a shot-clock violation with 1:34 to go.  The Centaurs made a trip to the free-throw line at the 1:13 mark, and hit one of two. Cox and Uri checked in for Belardi and Brooks. The Cubs still led 32-25. After a Kresich turnover, a wild sequece ensued. Parris got a steal, Uri got the ball stolen, and another steal by the Cubs resulted in no shot by the Cubs.  The Centaurs buried a three to come within four with ten seconds left. Sucuveanu missed a three at the buzzer.

Score: 32-28 Cubs

3rd Quarter

The starters were on the floor to begin the second half, and the Cubs got the first possession.  A shootout ensued, as neither team seemed to miss for the first 1:30 of the game. The Centaurs earned another trip to the line, making one of two free-throws and the score 38-32 in favor of the Cubs with 6:09 left.  The Centaurs struck again with another three at the 5:12 mark, cutting the Cubs’ lead to three. A Brooks bucket made it a two-possession game as the Cubs led 40-35 with 4:45 remaining. The Centaurs answered back with a bucket of their own, and the deficit was back to three.  Rofer took a charge at the 4:07 mark. Kresich made a jumper to bring the Cubs’ lead back to five, 42-37, with 3:43 remaining. Roquemore subbed in for Parris at the 3:11 mark. A Roquemore steal led to a Belardi layup at the 2:22 mark. The Centaurs buried a jumper to come within five, 44-39, with 2:10 to go.  A defensive collapse by the Cubs led to a wide-open Centaur layup, cutting the lead to three with 1:17 left. The Centaurs got a steal and made another layup to cut the Cubs’ lead to one, 44-43, with 50 seconds left in the third. Rofer splashed a three to give the Cubs a four-point lead with 33 seconds left.

Score: 47-43 Cubs

4th Quarter

The Centaurs had the ball to start the final quarter.  The final frame began with another shootout. The Centaurs made three buckets, including two threes.  Each of those baskets was countered by jumpers from Uri and G-Roq. The Cubs led 53-51 after two Centaur free-throws.  Back-to-back offensive rebounds by the Centaurs resulted in a layup tying the game at 53 with 5:16 left. The Centaurs began using full-court press afterward.  The Cubs went on a 7-0 run fueled by two Brooks layups and a Belardi three with 3:27 left. The Cubs began using full-court press as well. A G-Roq block gave the Cubs another opportunity, but Rofer missed the jam with two minutes left.  Belardi was fouled at the 1:21 mark, and the Cubs were now in the bonus. Belardi made both free throws. The Cubs were not out of the woods yet, as the Centaurs hit another three with 50 seconds left, forcing the Cubs to call timeout. With 40 seconds to go, Brooks threw down a thunderous dunk that did not count because of a traveling violation beforehand.  The Centaurs made another two to come within four, 62-58, with 23 seconds to go. Brooks buried both free throws with 22 seconds left, and the Cubs gave up a consolation basket to the Centaurs with eight seconds left.

FINAL: 64-60 Cubs

The Cubs finished the Rose City Roundball Classic with a 3-1 record.

Cub of the Game

The Cub of the Game was Colby Brooks with 19 points.  Brooks said that the key to his performance was his teammates passing him the ball as well as getting putback layups.  However, he also said he needed to improve on his free throws. “It was a good win,” he said. The Cubs also have not been in many late-game situations.  Brooks said that the biggest key to success in these times is their defense. “I think it’s just knowing where to get to our spots when we’re in a 2-3 zone,” he stated.  “Knowing how to get up and get back, and also having to trap.”

The Next Game

The Cubs will play an away game against the Verbum Dei Eagles on Tuesday, December 10, at 7:30 pm.