This game was about more than winning or losing. It was about competing till the final buzzer, no matter what the score.
Indeed, in the end it wasn’t the score – 68-54 Redondo — that mattered in Tuesday night’s rivalry game with Mira Costa. Going into the game everyone had just assumed that Redondo would win easily. Instead it was the bring-it-on fight between two hard-nosed, determined competitors that made the game so compelling deep into the fourth quarter.
The first quarter of the game was as fast, furious and frantic as any game in this long and storied rivalry has ever been. Traps, steals, coast-to-coast fast breaks, pull-up threes, get-out-of-my-way drives – this game had it all, despite pitting the Bay League leader and four-time defending champion against the Bay League cellar dweller. Both teams went ten deep just so they could keep up the relentless offensive pace and defensive pressure.
For the first quarter, at least, neither Redondo’s 10-game winning streak nor Mira Costa’s 10-days-later lingering shock and disbelief from losing an overtime thriller to Palos Verdes by one point on a buzzer beating heave from beyond half court mattered.
What mattered was the fierce 65-year rivalry between the two schools and the battle for summer playground bragging rights. That was enough to fill Costa’s Fisher Gym with fans from the neighboring Beach Cities for the first installment of the annual backyard brawl. Part two takes place next month at Redondo High School.
Mira Costa drew first blood when the Mustang’s best player, 6-foot-3 senior Brandon Chan, flew to the hoop for a stick-back that sparked hopeful roars from the crowd. Redondo’s senior guard Jailen Moore stole an errant pass, drove all the way for the hoop and got fouled in the process. He nailed the free throw to give Redondo a 3-2 lead. Both teams were putting on full-court pressure after every hoop, and after an exchange of steals Ryse Williams, Redondo’s star senior guard who will be filling it up for Loyola Marymount next year, drilled a 10-foot jumper to push the lead to 5-2.
But Bobby Barkley, Costa’s slick point guard, answered with a long three-pointer from the left corner to tie it at 5-5, again driving the crowd into a frenzy. The pace of the game was so frantic by now that Redondo Coach Vic Martin went to to his bench, bringing in his trio of lightning quick super-subs: Jace Bass, Zekiah Lovett and Josh Maduno. Maduno powered his way to the hoop for a score to make it 7-5, and Williams hit one of two free throws to pump the Sea Hawks’ lead up to 8-5. But Chan answered with a drive of his own to bring the Mustangs within one and it looked like it was going to be a back-and-forth game all night.
“They weren’t backing down one bit,” Martin said after the game. “They fought us every step of the way.”
At that point, however, Redondo ripped off a 7-0 spurt that gave them a 15-7 lead at the end of the first quarter. Their superior height, depth and quickness were starting to take a toll on the plucky Mustangs. The lead grew to 26-10 as Costa, with no inside post game to speak of, had to resort to long-range bombing with shots that usually clanked off the rim and led directly to Sea Hawk fast breaks. When Chan, the only Mustang player having any success getting to the hoop, dislocated his finger early in the second quarter and went to the locker room, things looked grim for Costa.
But mid-way through the quarter the Mustang’s junior sharp-shooter Morgan Clark came off the bench to drill a three-pointer, then followed that with a nifty drive that brought the Mustangs within hailing distance at 26-15.
That’s when Williams, the best player on the court, woke up from his slumber and started asserting himself, nailing a 15-foot jumper followed by two power drives that gave Redondo a 36-19 half-time lead.
The second half was essentially a draw, as Redondo maintained a double-digit lead but Mira Costa refused to go away. “I was real proud of our kids for the way they fought and kept it close,” Costa Head Coach Jeff Amaral said after the game. “It’s a loss, but I think it will be a confidence builder for us. I think it will help us get some wins in the second half of the league schedule.”
The loss dropped Mira Costa to 11-10 overall and 1-4 in league play. Chan led the Mustangs with 13 points and displayed a ton of heart when he came back to play with his dislocated finger taped up. “He brings it every night,” Amaral said. “He’s a real warrior.” Clark chipped in with 10 points and displayed a soft shooting touch that is much needed on an offensively challenged team with few dead-eye shooters and little post game. They will host Peninsula Friday night.
The win grew Redondo’s win streak to 11 and improved their record to 18-4, 5-0 in league. Williams led Redondo with 21 points, while Moore had 11, mostly on pull-up jumpers, and the ultra-quick Bass came off the bench to add 10. The Sea Hawks will host Morningside Friday night.
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