Story by Leighton Kwok
Staff Writer

Photo by Mac Shropshire
Staff Photographer

The boys’ basketball team played against the San Marino Titans in their first official league game of the season on Wednesday, Jan. 7. With South Pasadena and San Marino’s known ongoing rivalry, South Pasadena was hoping to take home the win for SPHS this year, after not losing a game to them since 2022. However, with a still-budding team, the Tigers’ inexperience with each other led to their downfall, losing 67-55.

San Marino won the tip-off to start the first quarter and immediately scored two points after. San Marino continued their lead, scoring a three-pointer after, with South Pasadena barely trailing by two points. 

Hoping to catch the Titans before they found their groove, the Tigers called a timeout halfway through the first quarter. Even though motivation was shown in the South Pasadena players, little progress was made as they struggled with inconsistent teamwork, ending the first quarter with San Marino leading 26-15.

Even though San Marino kept a lead, many fouls were called on them, giving South Pasadena some leeway to earn 17 free points throughout the game. South Pasadena continued to put more points on the board, with senior forward Rod Khollesi scoring 34 points overall. But it was not enough to catch up with San Marino, which found a comfortable lead the entire game. While both teams’ offense was strong, South Pasadena’s defense faltered under the pressure as San Marino dominated the court throughout all four quarters; the final score was 67-55.

Head Coach Ernst Baskerville emphasized the importance of the Tigers’ learning in the early stages of the season with a new set of players. 

“We are young and inexperienced, starting two sophomores, two freshmen, and one senior [at the beginning of the season], it is going to happen when you lose nine seniors from the year before,” Baskerville said.

The Tigers went on to play away against the Blair Vikings on Friday, Jan. 9, losing 95-78.