The first Varsity boys’ basketball home game turned into what felt like an away game as the Colton Yellowjackets fell to the Summit Seahawks 69-58. Although the Jackets lost by 11 points, they did manage to fight and cut the lead down with outstanding defense creating opportunities for the offense. Giving good looks to other players and putting great numbers at the charity strike, the Varsity squad kept rolling on their offense all game, but in the end they fell short.
The first half of the game for Colton was all about transition defense and passing offense. Senior point guard Michael Guzman contributed on the offensive side in the first half with seven points and junior point guard Jesse Ramirez also contributing with four points. Though the offense was rolling, it was also a “block party” for the Jackets as senior center Bryan Carter came with not only eight points but put up four blocked shots. New Head Coach David Gomez spoke just before halftime about the keys to the first half: “Probably our defensive rotations– they got out to a couple of key spots when we ran to our rotations. This half we came to our rotations quick, maybe contest a couple of shots and just keep doing what we’re doing. Slow down the offense, run through our rotations and layups.”
After halftime, the game turned into a scoring showdown as both the Skyhawks and the YellowJackets came out of the locker room running with high offense. Ramirez and Guzman once again, as in the first half, scored six points apiece, trying to get the Varsity boys some energy from the crowd. But then, getting close to the end of the third quarter, the Summit varsity team revved up their offense, trying to build themselves a lead. The Jackets then exploded, draining shot after shot and cut the deficit to 11 points. Carter, again showing his great wingspan, blocked two more shots and dropped in 10 more points, becoming the team’s leading scorer. But unfortunately, they could not do it fast enough to win and lost the game by 11.
Carter said about his high stats, “I just decided to play my game today. I wish [with a] little pieces here and there, with the turnovers, we could have won the game but it is what it is. I just try to play for my team.”
Guzman also commented about the game and the team’s performance saying, “We did good but we have to execute more. We have to run our plays, just do what we got to do.”
