Statmeister: Brave Hoops Down Conqs

Lompoc basketball gives Cabrillo "The Blues."

by Mike (Statmeister) Loney

A battered, but jubilant JOE ALERTA celebrated with his LHS teammates at mid-court of the CHS gym Wednesday night after an intensely physical defensive trial was eventually decided in the Braves favor 52-42.

The game was the culmination to an afternoon and evening slate of intra-valley match-ups between the two local high schools to open Los Padres League play. The event started with both the girls and boys freshman squads playing their counterparts at Paisola Pavilion on the LHS campus, while the JV & varsity units played at Cabrillo. Lompoc prevailed in five of the six contests, defeating the Conqs in all but the first one played.

Frosh girls

The freshman girl Conquistadores blew out (52-28) a Braves squad that was demoralized early in the second period by the loss of team leader KAYLIN BARNES to injury. That already depleted group seemed to lack cohesion despite playing with great effort against a very coordinated CHS attack. CHS coach VINCE FLOWERS credited Cabrillo's prowess to a group of nine players who had practiced hard all through the Christmas break. Barnes is expected to be out at least a week.

Frosh boys

The freshman boys followed with one of the best games of the young season. Lompoc jumped out to an 8-point lead after one quarter, then surrendered a 1-point deficit at halftime. Both teams scored ten in the third, and Cabrillo held a 36-35 lead with 2:45 left in the game. Lompoc, stepping up their defense down the stretch, led 39-38 at the 0:39 mark, and had possession of the ball. But missed free throws, several mad scrambles, and a held ball put the ball in the Conqs hands with the score unchanged and 13 seconds on the clock. A deep penetration was foiled when LHS knocked the ball out of bounds with 0:04 remaining. Cabrillo's last shot, a mid-range jumper from the left baseline, slowly slid over and off the front of the rim.

JV

The Lompoc girls JV team posted a narrow 2-point victory in a low scoring contest, and the boys JV won by 12 (69-57). Coach EARNEST REESE was quite pleased with his outfit's effort - especially the extremely low number of turnovers. This was in marked contrast to a series of rather indifferent practice sessions leading up to the game, including one Tuesday night cut short by a randomly operating fire alarm at LHS.

Girls varsity

The dual main event began with a girl's varsity game that was not for the faint of heart. Anyone who thinks that basketball is a non-contact sport or that girls are not competitive obviously did not see this one. Lompoc started quickly, taking a 14-2 lead in the first quarter, but Cabrillo definitely did not quit. They fought back to within six points by the end of a low-scoring opening half (20-14), during which neither team was shy about using fouls. In the third quarter the scoring pace picked up (18-16)-- surpassing the prior half as Lompoc eased out to an 8-point lead. Thus the fourth period began with Lompoc in familiar and unfriendly territory. They had the elements seen in several previous losses - a small lead, several players in foul trouble, and JOZZA RAY (27 points on the night) racing around the court. Tonight, however, would be different. The Braves were buoyed by the return from injury of ASHLEY CROMP, who provided much needed relief to post players CHELSEA CASSULO and COURTNEY STUMPO. CAMERON LIZARRAGA and LAUREN LOPES picked up significant points. So even though Cassulo and point guard DENEE LANE fouled out with nearly six minutes left, the Braves were able to hold off a series of charges by the Conqs and hold on to win 57-50.

Boys varsity

The near-capacity crowd barely had time to recover from the girls game, when the boys took the court. They were, if possible, more physical.

The Braves again jumped out to an early lead (6-2), but Cabrillo roared back - leading 10-6 at the end of one period. Lompoc's Joe Alerta had to leave the game midway through that initial stanza, wobbling off the court after colliding head-first with teammate STEVEN MOREHART while diving for a loose ball. He was able to return in time to hit a number of very timely shots (and 10 of 12 free throws), helping the Braves to a 24-19 halftime advantage. The second half was an extremely rugged affair with both teams having two more fouls than made baskets. Lompoc stretched its lead at the end of the third to 41-27, before Alerta went down again. This time laying on the court for several minutes after receiving a lower-body injury. Cabrillo out-scored the Braves down the stretch, but wasn't able to catch them although cutting the lead substantially at least twice.

Other notes

The LHS girls soccer teams had rough outings against Santa Ynez at home -- both varsity & JV losing by significant margins. In happier news both the boys and girls varsity basketball teams recieved additions recently. Yucca Valley transfer CARL BRUCE, a 6-3, 195-pound. athletic swingman, hopes to suit up for the fellas sometime next week. He is awaiting CIF clearance after moving to join his mom. The other new addition is Tara Nicolette Terrones, the new daughter of girls head coach CLAUDIA & (JV football coach) PAUL TERRONES (pictured). Current physical dimensions are in flux but it is reported that she has already begun work on her dribble.