The boys basketball team beat visiting El Dorado Adventist 66-61 in overtime on Jan. 15.
According to sophomore shooting guard Max Wu, the Cavs (4-8 overall, 1-5 in league) led throughout the first half due to strong defense and rebounding.
Junior small forward Chris Wilson agreed, adding: “We kept possession (of the ball) and had few turnovers. We also took great shots.”
However, the Eagles (4-6, 1-5) started catching up in the second half. Wu said this was because of Country Day’s defensive mistakes and the opponents’ 3-pointers.
“We had an issue with letting some people shoot open 3s,” Wu said. “This allowed them to close the score gap.
“We also had an issue with letting their big player (6-foot-2 forward Grant Phillippi) drive right through us.”
Wilson, who was guarding Phillippi, agreed.
“Number 22 (Phillippi) started driving (to) the basket, and we were just not playing good defense,” Wilson said. “Myself and (junior center Aaron Graves) weren’t getting over to block him from getting to the basket and making a layup.
“They started to gain momentum, and we just weren’t doing what we were supposed to.”
Wilson said the Cavs generally performed well during overtime.
“We were doing good on offensive and defensive rebounds, and we (took care of) the ball,” Wilson said.
Wilson added that the team played well overall.
“We didn’t lose the ball nearly as much as we did the other games,” Wilson said. “We made great passes, great layups, and we (did) better on getting defensive rebounds.”
However, Wu said the team could improve its shooting.
“We missed 11 layups,” Wu said. “Had we made those layups, the game would’ve been over instantly.”
Junior point guard Ted Zhou agreed.
“We were supposed to (beat) them,” Zhou said. “We were 12 points ahead during the third quarter.”
The Cavs’ next game is Friday, Jan. 18, at 7:30 p.m. (homecoming) against Cristo Rey.
—By Ming Zhu
