On Dec. 14-15, the boys varsity basketball team played three games in a tournament at Redding Christian School. Despite losing all three games, the Cavs (0-6) gained experience and bonded, according to senior forward and captain Chris Wilson.
The Cavs lost 74-21 to Redding Christian, 70-31 to Etna High School and 63-48 to John Adams Academy.
Freshman forward Rod Azghadi led the Cavs with 31 total points in three games. Azghadi leads the team with 7.5 points and 6.3 rebounds per game this season.
Despite the losses, coach David Ancrum said the team played tough against mostly new competition.
“The teams (the Cavs played) were rough,” Ancrum said. “But the guys started figuring out what their roles were by the second game. By the last game, they were playing hard and competing.”
The last game against John Adams was competitive, according to Wilson. Azghadi led the Cavs with 11 points.
“We were definitely playing tougher, and we fixed our mistakes from the first two games,” Wilson said.
The Cavs had never played Redding Christian or Etna, according to Wilson. However, they lost to John Adams 49-40 in Roseville on Dec. 10, so they were better prepared.
“We weren’t playing good offense or defense against Redding Christian, and they had a 6-foot-9 player, so they killed us in rebounds,” Wilson said. “But against John Adams, we definitely improved since we last played them. I think we have the potential to beat them.”
Senior forward Charles Thomas said the tournament helped the Cavs prepare for their league opener, Dec. 17 at Sacramento Adventist.
“Playing against new competition we haven’t seen is really beneficial,” Thomas said. “This experience will help us play better against teams in our league.”
The Cavs also improved off the court, freshman guard Tonye Jack said. The tournament was more than a two-hour drive from Sacramento, so the team stayed in a hotel for a night.
“We bonded a lot more as a team in the hotel,” Jack said. “It was nice to get to know everyone (outside) a basketball setting.”
Wilson also enjoyed socializing with the team.
“(Athletic director) Matt Vargo organized it so that every guy on the team had a room with someone not in their class,” Wilson said. “So for me, I had (junior) Martin Cao and (freshman) Jonah David. It was cool to get to know them, hang out and have dinner with the team without talking about basketball.”
—By Arijit Trivedi
