Staff Writer
The boys’ basketball team showed mixed results after beating host school Glendora 45-32 yesterday, but dropping the previous game to Rowland High School by a resounding 64-44 loss. South Pasadena’s now stands at a pre-season record of 4-5 with the Tigers’ win yesterday.
The Tigers quickly jumped out of the gate scoring the game’s first seven points. The larger Glendora team tried to outmatch the Tigers by playing the ball inside, but the Tigers responded with a relenting defense. The game would end with a low-scoring 45-32 outcome.
Against Rowland, the Tigers’ offense in the first quarter was met immediately with stubborn man defense from the Raiders. Six fouls early in the first quarter hampered the Tiger starting five’s flexibility on the court. Junior Matt Scholtz faced foul trouble with four fouls in the third quarter. The Raiders rebounding forced the Tigers to play from behind the duration of regulation time. South Pasadena’s disappointing loss to Rowland put the Tigers at a 0-1 record in
the tournament.
“We just have to box out better and play tougher inside,” junior Lucas Fox said. “We’ve been executing really well in our games and we need to continue to execute to keep winning.”
The Tigers’ previous losses to Gabrielino and San Gabriel Academy exposed the team’s disadvantage inside the key. For the past eight games, South Pas has allowed an average of 59 points to opponents, while putting up 51 points on offense. The team has been working to close the gaps in
their playstyle.
“We need to take advantage of our speed to get to the basket, then use our passing and scoring ability when we get in the paint,” junior Stone Franco said.
The Tigers victory against Azusa High School has proven that the team’s ability to exploit these advantages can make a difference in the game. Lockdown defense from South Pas held Azusa to 41 points in the game.
Unlike past years, no single player can be looked to as the star – all players have scored nearly the same number of points per game. All have contributed to the team’s success evenly.
“I want to make sure we’re prepared to play our best basketball so we can be competitive [when Rio Hondo League begins],” head coach David Lutzeier said.
The team looks to ride the momentum from the win yesterday against Duarte High School in the third round of the Glendora Winter Tournament on Friday, December 18 at 3:00 p.m.
