Staff Writer
Photos by Tucker Judkins
The boys’ basketball team finished the D1 Bound Southern California Classic on Wednesday, December 30 with an even 2-2 record in the tournament and a 7-8 overall preseason record.
The Tigers first game against Granada Hills ended in a 60-51 loss to the Highlanders. Cold shooting and turnovers plagued South Pas throughout the game and the Tigers were off to a rough start in the tournament.
South Pasadena faced off against Sylmar High School in the second round. Stops on defense kept the game low scoring for both sides. The Tigers found themselves down 22-20 in the half against the larger Sylmar Spartans. Coming back in the third quarter, both teams kept the lead close until a few decisive stops gave the Spartans the edge in the game. Sylmar slowly gained the lead with point after point to put the game out of reach for South Pas and end in the team’s second loss of the tournament by a score of 53-43.
South Pas returned against Sherman Oaks CES for the third matchup in the tournament. Early in the game, the Tigers quickly gained confidence over the larger Knight players and used speed and agility to South Pasadena’s advantage. The Tigers’ ability to reach the rim on fast breaks led to their first win of the tournament in a 52-44 victory over the Knights.
South Pas closed out its final game with a 52-44 victory over Moreno Valley. The Tigers opened up with similar play as their game before. Although the Tigers committed multiple turnovers, the team’s confidence driving into the key for easy lay ups built decisive advantage over the Vikings.
“Our shooting ability will give us an advantage and we need to improve on boxing out against bigger teams,” junior Lucas Fox said.
The Tigers will face off against Mark Keppel High School away coming back from the break on Monday, January 4.
