Lancers come away with second place

Although their goal was to win the tournament the Avalon Boys Basketball team came away with the second place trophy in their annual trip to Huntington Beach to play in the Liberty Christian Beach Bash Tournament.

Avalon looked real strong in the first three games of the tournament behind the outstanding play of senior Edgar Alvarez and sophomore Danny Jimenez.

Although their goal was to win the tournament the Avalon Boys Basketball team came away with the second place trophy in their annual trip to Huntington Beach to play in the Liberty Christian Beach Bash Tournament.

Avalon looked real strong in the first three games of the tournament behind the outstanding play of senior Edgar Alvarez and sophomore Danny Jimenez.

The Lancers defeated Acaciawood Academy 47-27 in game one. It was a consummate team effort as seven different players scored and everybody contributed on the defensive end.  In game 2 Avalon was ever better, scoring a 56-17 victory over Crystal Cathedral behind the outstanding play of Edgar Alvarez and Danny Jimenez once again. Although these two players did a lot of the scoring it was the team defense that was most impressive.

Senior center Daniel Paradisi came alive on the defensive end of the court getting 5 steals that he converted into 10 points off of 2 baskets and 3 assists. Paradisi is quite the hustler and it is beginning to rub off on the other players. In game three of the tournament the Lancers faced a little better competition in Padre Pio but still the Lancers were tenacious on defense and efficient on offense, coming away with a 57-22 victory. Once again this was a team victory with everybody contributing. Alvarez had 18 points while Danny Jimenez had 15 and Isaac Rios supplied the tenacious defense and generous passing.

Rios is a senior who has been in the background but he is really starting to show his worth. In game four of the tournament the Lancers played against last year’s Division 6 finalist, Pacific Lutheran.

The Lancers were not intimidated in the least and played a great game.  Avalon took a 25 to 20 halftime lead and looked ready to extend that lead in the 3rd quarter when its star player, Edgar Alvarez went down with a sprained ankle. At this point the Lancers could have thrown in the towel, since Alvarez is such a big part of their success.  However, sophomore Danny Jimenez once again stepped up to the plate and with the help of Daniel Paradisi and freshman Julio Hernandez, Avalon almost pulled it off.  

Unfortunately, Pacific Lutheran held on for a 55-47 victory. Although the Lancers lost the game they came away feeling good that their younger players handled the pressure and never gave up.

Without Gabe Hernandez for three of the four games and with Alvarez’s injury in the championship game, the Lancers feel that if they can get all of their players healthy and present they have a good team ready to compete for a Catalina Classic Championship, a league championship, and ultimately a playoff game. The team could certainly use your support.

Steve Hall is the Lancers’ coach.