Outscoring their league rivals 27-6 during the fourth quarter, the varsity boys defeated the Valley Christian Lions, 115-68, at home on Jan. 26.
Per usual, the Lions subbed frequently. Sixteen boys played over the course of the game (more than the scorebook can hold!) compared to nine for the Cavs.
To prepare for this (the Lions substitute in five new players every 2-3 minutes), the SCDS starters practiced defending this kind of offense against their teammates for some practices before the game.
The Cavs started the first quarter against their rival (and one of the tougher teams in the league) strong.
The four sophomores – Jayce McCain, B.J. Askew, Rick Barros III and Cole Johnson – came out with a bang, leading the Cavs to a first-quarter victory of 29-14. The sophomores made 21 of the 29 points in the first quarter.
“We were particularly strong the first quarter,” junior Adam Dean said.
“We started very fast-paced. As soon as we got the rebound, we kicked the ball up and got easy transition points.”
The Cavs scored even more during the second quarter, again with the help of high-scoring sophomores.
However, junior starter Aidan Cunningham also had a high-scoring second quarter and game. He scored 5 during the second quarter and 13 total for the game, a season high.
“I was definitely happy with how I played,” Cunningham said.
“However, I missed three layups, so, as always, there is definitely need for improvement.”
With the help of Cunningham, the Cavs maintained a strong lead, making the score 62-39 at the half.
The third quarter continued in the same fashion: Cavs dominating and same boys contributing the majority of the points.
The Cavs went into the final quarter with a comfortable lead of 88-62.
The boys, however, did not back off.
Askew, McCain, Barros and Johnson landed shot after shot, racking up an even greater lead.
They held Valley to only 6 points the entire quarter, compared to the Cavs’ 32.
Along with that, Dean (a former starter) returned to the court fourth quarter following an almost season-long ankle sprain. He finished the game with 2 points.
Overall the sophomore boys combined for 94 points.
Barros was the player of the game, coach David Ancrum said.
He finished with 27 points and 23 rebounds, what Ancrum called an “Andre Drummond night” (the NBA Detroit Pistons’ center).
Ancrum attributed the strong win also to Cunningham and senior Brad Petchauer for doing a good job rebounding and making their layups.
“We came out the strongest we have all season because we ran the court and never settled for long shots,” Cunningham said.
“We really wanted to win this game because they were one of our two losses in league last year, and we wanted to show them they had no chance this year.”
In the past week, the Cavs have beat both teams they had formerly lost to: Buckingham and Valley.
The boys next play Sacramento Adventist Academy (9-8). The game is at home on Thursday, Jan. 28, at 7:30 p.m.
—By Alexa Mathisen
