Tess Whittet
Staff Writer
The rim shook with force, the buzzer sounded and the ball fell to the ground.
The boys basketball team fell to St. Joseph’s High School, 67-65, at El Segundo High School on Feb. 15 after a near game-winning buzzer beater. The venue switched to El Segundo due to leakage in the roof of the Mira Costa gym. Costa held the lead for a majority of the game, but defensive lapses in the end terminated their California Interscholastic Federation run in the second round.
“We really played with a lot of resistance and people doubted us coming into this game, a lot of us doubted ourselves, but we really persevered and they got the best of us in the second half but that’s what basketball is,” junior shooting guard Morgan Clark said.
Saint Joseph came out strong in the beginning of the first quarter, taking the lead 7-0. Costa came back and tied them 11-11 in the middle of the first quarter. The Mustangs took the lead in the last two minutes of the first quarter and ended it up 23-18.
Costa Boys Basketball Maxpreps
“We played with a lot of resistance and we persevered, but they got the best of us in the second half,” junior shooting guard Morgan Clark said.
St. Joseph’s came out strong in the beginning of the first quarter, taking a 7-0 lead. The Mustangs battled back in the last two minutes of the quarter with baskets from junior shooting guard Bobby Barkley and senior guard Ryan White.
“We started with great energy and shot the ball well,” Costa coach Jeff Amaral said. “We also defended like crazy and rebounded the ball.”
Costa kept its lead through the second quarter. St. Joseph’s begun to make a comeback in the middle of the quarter, but Costa hung on, 32-23. The Mustangs continued to dominate with 17 points from senior Jackson Weaver, ending the second quarter 38-27.
“In the second quarter, we knocked down a few threes and went into the half up 11, so we had the momentum coming into halftime,” Weaver said.
St. Joseph’s started out the third quarter with three baskets, but Costa responded with a three- pointer by Weaver. The Mustangs expanded their lead again with baskets from senior point guard Brandon Chan, ending the quarter 54-42.
“We had some mistakes that we easily could have fixed, but it is what it is,” Clark said. “A couple mistakes could change the game, and that’s what happened.”
St. Joseph’s fired back in the fourth quarter, minimizing the Mustangs’ lead to 58-53. With minutes left, the score was tied, 65-65. In the last eight seconds of the game, St. Joseph’s scored, pushing the score to 65-67. Costa had three seconds to tie the game, but Chan’s final shot fell short.
“We gave it our all, we just came up short,” senior forward Jonas Pittman said.
With the loss, the Mustangs ended their season 14-14 overall. Sophomore guard Aaron Strings said next season will be another opportunity to work hard and make another playoff run.
“We have a lot of work to do to get where we need to be,” Strings said. “We struggled in the beginning of the season, but we can get it together by the next season, and I believe we will do all right.”
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