The Lowell - Basketball living and dying by the three-pointer (2/08)

Basketball living and dying by the three-pointer (2/08)

Written by Avi Baskin

    THE FIRST TIME the boys’ varsity basketball team played the Wallenberg High School Bulldogs, they lost by three points, when senior guard Alex McNabb’s last second three-pointer hit the back of the rim and bounced astray. The second time the Cardinals played Wallenberg, it was the Bulldogs’ turn.     The two teams battled a Feb. 15 contest, a game that would decide who would have the number one seed in the Neff Division for the upcoming AAA playoffs. Lowell entered the game 11-3 in league play and was looking to get a big victory over the Bulldogs (12-2), to who they fell 49-46 in the previous meeting.
    The first half of the game was a low scoring affair, but the Cardinals were leading 19-13 at the half amidst the defensive struggles. However, the Bulldogs obviously drank their Gatorade at halftime and came back in the third quarter, scoring 17 points while holding the Cardinals to only five. With the score at 36-24, it appeared as if Lowell was going to be buried once again.
    Enter McNabb. The same McNabb who missed the would-be game winner in the first match up. McNabb hit two clutch threes to put Lowell back into the game in the fourth quarter as the Cardinals started to hit their stride. With less than a half a minute left, the Cardinals were up 42-41 when junior guard Darrin Mock drew a foul and went to the charity stripe. After missing the first free throw off the iron, Mock put the second one through to extend Lowell’s lead to two.
    As Wallenberg drove up the court, junior forward Yuhki Sakai drew a charge, giving the Cardinals the ball and seemingly the victory. With six ticks left on the clock, Wallenberg set up a last second play. The Cardinal defense was all over the Bulldogs, but Senior guard Kurtis Wong was able to put up desperation three that stuck through the hearts of the Cardinals. As the ball swished through the net, Lowell’s players collapsed to the floor into utter disbelief. The Bulldogs won the game by one point, 44-43.
    Though defeated twice this season by the Bulldogs, the Cardinals can take many positives from the game. First, and most importantly, the Cardinals have shown the league that they can match up with top contender Wallenberg. In both games, Lowell could have come out on top with just one more break.
    Lowell also had a tough loss against Lincoln. The Lincoln Mustangs forced many Cardinal turnovers in the second half with a tight full-court press. Lincoln’s Dribble-Drive offense outscored the Cardinals in the second half en route to a 59-46 victory.
The Cardinals also had trouble with the Mission Bears, who are undefeated in league play. Mission junior Demaree Hampton, who is averaging 25 points a game put up 27 against a beat-up Lowell team, with senior guard Travis Hom playing on a bum knee, and Sakai battling a cold.
    The Cardinals also fought out a tough game at the annual Battle of the Birds against the Washington Eagles on Jan. 25. Down 20-4 at the end of first quarter, the Eagles were on a roll. The Eagles’ fans were booming and Lowell’s traditionally raucous Sixth Man cheering section was silenced by the lead. However, Lowell balanced the game out by hitting clutch threes in the second quarter to bring the score within five, and more importantly, claw away at the Eagles momentum and get the Sixth man back into the game.
    In the second half, Hom lived up to his nickname; “Prophecy.” The guard finished the game with 24 points, but none more clutch than his first quarter performance. With less than a minute to go, Hom stepped back, unguarded from NBA three point land and let a beauty fly into the back of the net as the Lowell fans exploded like a volcano. Lowell had the lead 55-54 and Kezar stadium was rocking.
    However, the resilient Eagles were not done. They drove down the court and senior Aaron Garrett, who finished with a team high 20 points for the Eagles, hit a jump shot to regain the lead for the Eagles, 56-55. With 13 seconds left, the Cardinals drove up the court and set up a play. The ball was passed outside to Sakai, who pump faked a three that caused the Eagle defender to bite enough to open a lane to the basket.
Sakai moved the ball to the hoop and instead of putting it up, he went around the Eagle defenders and spun in a reverse lay up that found its way into the hoop with seven seconds on the clock. Washington drove up the court and hastily put in a last shot, high off the backboard, as the buzzer sounded and the Sixth Man Army stormed the court.
     The Cardinals look to duplicate this effort in the playoffs and ride a wave of momentum. To be successful against the heavily favored Mission Bears and the tough Bulldogs, the Cardinals will have to work around Sakai and Hom. All year these two players have been the base of the Cardinals offensive attack. To be successful in the post season, both will have to continue to play well and others will have to step up around them.
    Come support the Cardinals as they continue their march in the playoffs today at 5:15 against Marshall at Lowell.

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