by Frank Caggino
The Brentwood Indians had an excellent regular season finishing with a 22-1 record that included several lopsided victories. On the other side, was the defending champion Half Hollow Hills East Thunderbirds, who finished with a 19-4 regular season record. Both of these teams were evenly matched and made for an exciting close game that was difficult to predict who would come out on top.
The first quarter was a defensive close quarter with many fouls and free throws. Most of the offense early came from around the rim for the Thunderbirds, led by Shamar Moore-Hough and Max Caspi. Brentwood was able to keep the game close with their offensive rebounding, especially Bryce Harris. The Indians also got a spark from Kenny Lazo, with his ability to force turnovers and push the tempo at the other end. The quarter ended with a layup from Caspi to give the Thunderbirds a 15-13 lead at the end of the first quarter.
The second quarter featured some more offense but with different styles of play. Hills East continued to score inside while Brentwood was able to generate offense from behind the three point line. The Thunderbirds continued to score inside from all of their players, such as Shane Dean and Dante Green. Jordan Riley got hot for the Indians and helped give the team a 30-26 lead at the half ,which included baskets from the mid range and capitalized with a dunk.
Half Hollow Hills East started off the second half great, getting contributions from the entire starting lineup and went on a 11-2 run to take a 37-32 lead. The layups continued to rack up for the Thunderbirds, first by Caspi and followed by Green, which forced a timeout from Brentwood with them trailing by eight. Following the timeout, the teams traded baskets and went into the fourth quarter with the Thunderbirds up 47-41.
Riley got going again in the fourth quarter and helped the Indians be down by only two. To close the game, it was Bryce Harris that took over, he was able to score from the outside with his three point shooting, and keep his team alive with his offensive rebounding. Those offensive rebounds ended up being the difference maker in the game. Hills East missed several free throws down the stretch, and were not able to get the ball back. When Brentwood missed free throws, Harris was able to either get the rebound, or tip the ball to a teammate to create another offensive possession. Free throws from Kenny Lazo and Jordan Riley sealed the victory for the Brentwood Indians as they won 63-56.
After the game, Indians’ Head Coach Anthony Jimenez was proud of the way Bryce Harris finished the game considering that he got off to a slow start and that he did, “what great players do.” Because the game was always in single digits and the atmosphere was intense, Coach Jimenez tried to calm his team down in order to be able to execute down the stretch. That execution on offense is what allowed his team to upset the defending champions and advance to the next round on Wednesday.
