Lancers end season on a positive note

Courtesy Photo Pictured left to right, are Kaiwann King, Leo Rodriguez, Coach Steve Hall, Manager Alana Moreno, Corbin Machado, Adrian Castro, and James Hall.

The Avalon Boys Basketball season has ended but the Lancers went out with a bang. On a night where the Lancers honored their Senior players, they treated the crowd with one of their best performances of the season, defeating Magnolia Science Academy 53-29. The Lancers were led by Seniors Leo Rodriguez, Adrian Castro, Kaiwann King, Corbin Machado, and James Hall.

These 5 players devoted many hours to our program and received the deserved recognition in a pre-game ceremony with family members joining them at Center Court with flowers, gifts, and hugs.

Magnolia was overmatched from the beginning and Avalon took advantage and jumped out to a 14-6 first quarter lead. The Lancers were outscored until the 2nd quarter and took a 21-15 lead into halftime. The Lancers put on full court pressure in the 3rd quarter and it proved to be effective outscoring Magnolia 15-3 in the quarter. The Lancers put it all together in the 4th quarter outscoring Magnolia 23-10 and finishing the season with a 59-28 victory.

Leo Rodriguez led all scorers with 17 while Adrian Castro added 11 to the cause and newcomer Kaiwann King contributed nine points. Sophomore Darren Hall, with nine points, showed that there is a future for the program as well. Corbin Machado was the leader in assists with six. Senior James Hall was coming off of a recent ankle injury but still managed to play with a lot of heart in grabbing six rebounds.

It was a nice way to finish a tough season. The future Lancers will have to work hard in the off season to replace these five quality seniors who are graduating. We have six sophomores with varsity experience returning. Aaron Castro, Cole Konigsmark, Nalu Martin, Brandon Moreno, Darren Hall, and David Talsky. These players hope to fill the void left by our five Seniors. Freshmen Jacob Mello, Manases Rubio, and Rigo Arellano are other bright spots for the future as well and hope to help solidify the program next year. Thanks to the community for all the support even in the most difficult of times.