Team has gained valuable experience vs. tough competition
The Avalon boys varsity basketball team continues to struggle against their preseason opponents. They currently have a 3-10 record but have gained valuable experience against superior competition.
The Lancers finally got a taste of victory on Thursday, Dec. 12, against Wildwood High School, out of downtown Los Angeles. This was a first-round game in the 27th Annual Catalina Classic and brought some needed life to the Lancers’ season.
Leading the way for the Lancers were Allen Arneson and Daniel Madriz with 16 and 15 points respectively. Arneson also had 13 rebounds and 5 steals. Jesse Machado was instrumental in this one as well, scoring 9 points and dishing out 4 assists. The final score was Avalon 51 and Wildwood 32.
On Friday, Dec. 13 the Lancers played a doubleheader, winning one game and losing the other. They came up short in game 1 against Pacific Ridge, losing 54-43. This was a hard-fought battle against a good team. Sol Vines led Avalon with 15 points and 8 rebounds. Allen Arneson had 9 points and 6 rebounds. In game 2 against Wildwood, the Lancers took control early and never looked back, winning by a final score of 62-35.
This was a consummate team effort as Avalon had 5 players score in double figures. Sol Vines had 14, Allen Arneson 13, Dominic Hernandez 12, Daniel Madriz 11 and Jesse Machado 10. Vines also grabbed 8 rebounds.
In the final game of the tournament on Saturday, Dec. 14, the Lancers were trounced by Pacific Ridge. Avalon only had 6 players available to play due to sickness and injury. Pacific Ridge took advantage from the beginning and the Lancers fell by a score of 82-45. Sol Vines scored 10 points in this one and Jesse Machado did as well.
Daniel Madriz and Allen Arneson each had 9 points. Sophomores Adrian Castro and Johnny Hernandez came up from the JV squad to help out the cause and showed some hope for the future. Sol Vines earned an All-Tournament Plaque for his outstanding play in the tournament
On Saturday Dec. 21 Avalon faced Estancia High School out of Costa Mesa. The Lancers came out on fire with Daniel Madriz scoring 6 points from afar and Allen Arneson scoring 10 points in the paint. Unfortunately, the Lancers cooled off after the 1st quarter and ended up losing 72-51. Madriz and Arneson both finished with 18 points on fine shooting. However, the Lancers need to put four good quarters of basketball together in order to have more success against these bigger schools.
On Thursday, Dec. 26 the Lancers headed south to Vista, California to compete in the Annual Tri City Holiday Classic. The Lancers opened up against Sage Hill and fell behind early by a score of 13-4. The Lancers played pretty even with Sage Hill for the next 3 quarters, but still lost 55-41. Allen Arneson had 20 points and 11 rebounds. Daniel Madriz added 9 points to the cause.
On Friday Dec. 27 the Lancers played another doubleheader. In game 1, against Saddleback High School, the Lancers were victorious in a 56-53 thriller. Daniel Madriz was the hero in this one, scoring 19 points and grabbing 6 rebounds. He also made three clutch free throws at the end to ice the game. Later in the afternoon the Lancers faced Guajome Park out of San Diego. The Lancers competed well in this one, only to come up short at the end 52-41. The defense was solid, but the Lancers continued to struggle on offense.
We need to get three players consistently scoring in double figures to solve the offensive woes. Allen Arneson scored 20 points in this game and had five rebounds. Daniel Madriz had eight points and five rebounds as well.
In the final game of the tournament, against Alhambra High School, Avalon came out slow and never got it going. The defense was lackluster and the offense non-existent. The final score was Alhambra 72 and Avalon 30. In this tournament Avalon played some of their best ball of the season, but also some of their worst. Hopefully we can get healthy and continue to improve. We have two games remaining on our preseason schedule (as of press time), one was played Thursday, Jan 2, against Holy Martyr’s. The Lancers will host La Quinta on Saturday, Jan. 4, at 5 p.m. Come on up and support your local high school hoopsters.
