“DEFENSE! DEFENSE! DEFENSE!” the Highlands High School crowd clamored as they stomped their feet.
Then Highlands coach Dennis Weaver got up and yelled at the refs.
“Call a foul against that kid (freshman Jayce McCain)!” Weaver demanded, before making an exaggerated impersonation of McCain to his athletes.
Despite all the chaos, the Cavs slammed Highlands, 70-52, on Jan. 13.
“I just tried to ignore them,” freshman B.J. Askew said.
“I’m used to it, so it was no big deal,” freshman Rick Barros III chimed in.
Askew scored 22 points and McCain scored 16 (including a 3-pointer). Barros scored 15, while freshman Cole Johnson scored 12.
Though the Cavs were behind for most of the first half, they pulled through and maintained a steady lead through the rest of the game.
“(My) heartbeat was on point today,” Barros said.
According to coach Dave Ancrum, the boys played tougher today, unlike in their game against Div. III Hiram Johnson on Dec. 30.
“I knew we’d be okay because we played good defense,” he said.
As for the noise, Ancrum wasn’t worried.
“It was almost like AAU (Amateur Athletic Union) ball, where they are constantly making noise,” Ancrum said.
The boys’ next game is at Homecoming on Friday, Jan. 16, at 7:30 p.m. against Faith Christian.
