Story by Gavin Bartolome & Owen Hou
Staff Writers
Photos by Zoe Chen & Mac Shropshire
Staff Photographers
The Tigers brought down the iron hammer, besting Monrovia’s Wildcats 87-51 on Friday, Jan. 17. The Tigers dominated throughout the game, showcasing a promising start to their season.
“I really feel like now that everyone’s back, everyone’s ready to play, everything’s going our way as far as playing hard [and] us being determined,” senior point guard Sebastian Martinez said.
The Tigers gained possession first, winning the tip off and quickly putting the first points on the scoreboard with a score of 8-0. The Tigers’ well-coordinated offense struck deep into the Wildcats, who struggled with rebounds and getting themselves open. The Wildcats, attempting to restart the match’s beginning, took a timeout. Going back in, the Tigers made repeated fouls on the Wildcats, letting up six points from personal fouls alone.
However, denying the Wildcats any leeway, the Tigers took their first timeout, focusing on careful yet offensive planning. Returning to the period, the Tigers’ offense picked up, using the Wildcats’ sparse defense to attempt several layups and raising the score 21-12 to end the first period. During the period, the team’s confidence began to bud with players such as senior forward Trevor Cohen, who made several aggressive layups that sliced straight through the Wildcats’ desperate defense.
The second period began with a struggle for the ball as both teams traded possession continually and alternated making layups. Despite the scoreboard’s 30-16 display, the Wildcats remained hopeful, making a three pointer and bringing the score to 30-19. After this, however, the Tigers began to blitz through the defense’s holes while patching their own; that was the last time the Wildcats scored in the period, although the Wildcats fouled both senior point guard Miles Nowe and junior shooting guard Rod Khollesi. South Pasadena continued to score relentlessly, gaining 15 points without letting Monrovia score at all. By the end of the second quarter, the Tigers had left the Wildcats in the dust, going into halftime with a score of 45-19.


In the first minute of the third period, Monrovia fouled senior point guard Oni Balogun; this first foul would mark many more to come, and both sides became more aggressive as the game progressed. Despite this, the Tigers’ progress exploded and they continually took advantage of gaps in the Wildcats’ defense. One set of plays that especially characterized the first half of the third quarter was a back-to-back dunk and three pointer made by senior power forward Jack Madison that brought the score to 53-19.
Eventually, however, the Wildcats began to stage a comeback. Although they began the quarter with only 19 points, they ended with 34. This gain was partially caused by the substitution of the Tigers’ second-string players. Still, the Wildcats still lagged behind, ending the third period with a score of 76-34. The Tigers’ score was more than double that of the Wildcats.

The fourth period displayed a playful atmosphere among the stands and players, while the Wildcats played on with melancholic intensity. As the fourth period slowly whittled down, the Tigers began their final push to claim the win. Aided by their determination, the Tigers reclaimed several rebounds with junior guard Riley Nashirmura and Khollesi notching up several points with a deep three pointer by Khollesi. As the game drew to a close, the Tigers held onto the ball, whittling down seconds until the final buzzer rang through the gym.
Throughout the course of the game, the Tigers put on a spectacular offensive showing and managed to keep their massive lead over the Wildcats, ultimately winning with a score of 87 to 51.
“The great thing is everybody got a chance to play tonight,” Head Coach Ernest Baskerville said. “There’s going to be times when a lot of people won’t play, but tonight we got a chance to get some people in the game that don’t see a lot of playing time, and that’s what it’s really about.”
Boys’ basketball’s next game will be away against Blair on Friday, Jan. 24 at 7 p.m.





