The Avalon Boys Varsity basketball season is underway and the Lancer Hoopsters are showing some positive potential so far. Avalon traveled to Hesperia, California on Dec. 3 to participate in the Hesperia Christian Holiday Classic and came away with two wins and two losses.
First game ends with
a 1 point loss
The Avalon Boys Varsity basketball season is underway and the Lancer Hoopsters are showing some positive potential so far. Avalon traveled to Hesperia, California on Dec. 3 to participate in the Hesperia Christian Holiday Classic and came away with two wins and two losses.
First game ends with
a 1 point loss
In their first game of the tournament the Lancers faced Tri City Christian and came out sluggish in the first quarter, falling behind of 20 to 8. The second quarter wasn’t much different and the Lancers trailed 41 to 21 at halftime.
The good thing is that the Lancers didn’t give up and played even with Tri City in the second half, only to lose in the end by a score of 79 to 60.
Leading the way for Avalon in this game were Senior Miguel Bonilla, with six 3-pointers and Junior Emmanuel Amezcua with three 3-pointers.
The opposing coach was so impressed with their shooting he said that it seemed like they were making their shots all the way from Avalon. Seniors Jose Silva and Anthony Hernandez contributed to the cause as well with 10 and 9 points respectively.
Second game
In their second game of the tournament Avalon faced Big Bear High School and lost a hard fought battle 67 to 55. The Lancers seem to be experiencing problems on the defensive end of the court so far this season and will hopefully improve quickly.
The team needs more verbal communication and more players crashing the boards. We don’t have a lot of size but will hopefully make up for it with effort and energy. Senior Captain Jose Silva led the Lancers in this game with 21 points and 5 rebounds. Senior Jalen Flynn and Junior Emmanuel Amezcua also contributed to this fine effort with 10 and 9 points respectively.
Third game victory
In the third game of the tournament the Lancers faced a very young and inexperienced Bethel Baptist team. The Lancers applied a lock down defense for 4 quarters and came away with a 60 to 12 victory. This was a consummate team effort and showed that the Lancers can play with discipline and poise. Senior veteran Oscar Bastida was the leading scorer in this game with 18 points. Anthony Hernandez and Junior Ruben Martinez added 12 points apiece, while Jalen Flynn added 11 points and 9 rebounds.
Final tournament game
In the final game of the tournament against Boron High School, the Lancers played their best game of the season thus far, even without Captain Jose Silva, who had to sit this one out due to a cut below his eye that he suffered in the game against Bethel Baptist.
Junior point guard Emmanuel Amezcua stepped right in for Silva and we didn’t miss a beat. Amezcua dished out 7 assists, scored 10 points and handled the pressure just fine. Jalen Flynn had 15 points to lead all scorers, while Oscar Bastida contributed 14 points and Miguel Bonilla added 9 points to the cause. All in all this tournament was a great learning and bonding experience for our team and I’m proud to say that our student/ athletes represented their school and their town in fine fashion.
The following weekend the Lancers traveled to the mainland again, this time to face Sage Hill from Newport Beach on Saturday, Dec. 12. Sage Hill is a Division 4 school so we knew we were in for a tough game but Avalon was not intimidated and played with the Lightning the entire way, only to lose in the end by a score of 57 to 50.
Jose Silva led Avalon with 18 points and Oscar Bastida added 10 points to the cause. The Lancers are now preparing for the 20th Annual Catalina Classic which will take place this week, Dec. 17, 18 and 19. Come on up and support your local Avalon student/athletes and help them to victory in this prestigious tournament that has seen exciting small school basketball for the past 20 years. We have been working hard to raise money to fund our trips to the mainland and we have been training hard in the gym as well. We want and think we deserve your support, so help us establish a clear cut home court advantage and come on up to Hickey Rohlik Fieldhouse this season to support us. Thanks!
