Battling in the first round of the Monta Vista Holiday Tournament, the Tennyson Lancers defeated the Capuchino Mustangs 46-36 Thursday night. Despite a strong performance by Capuchino senior forward Zach Kotz (team-high 16 points), an all-around team effort by the Lancers led by junior guard Isiah Ali, who scored 13 points, pushed the Lancers to victory.
Capuchino (3-2) started the game out strong, outscoring Tennyson 14-9 at the end of the first. However, the Lancers cut into the lead in a defensive second quarter which saw Tennyson (2-8) outscore Capuchino 6-4 to pull to within 18-15 at the half.
As the teams emerged from the halftime break, the game kicked into high gear as both sides began scoring ferociously with the Lancers nearly doubling the score during the third quarter to take the lead for the first time in the game, 29-28.
With the game narrowed down to a single point, both teams went into the last quarter with a heavy offensive agenda. However, a lack of effective communication from the Mustangs caused a plethora bad passes and missed catches, allowing the Lancers to score repeatedly without much of a response from the Mustangs.
Reflecting on the team's effort, Lancer head coach Jess Higares attributed the victory to the team's outstanding teamwork.
"The guys played a team effort and they played hard and stuck to the game plan, that was the most important," says Higares. "Playing like a team helps you win games, instead of always just individuals. Today, it was a team effort overall so I'm very pleased with the team."
The Lancers face off against Gunderson Friday night (8:00 PM) in the semifinals while the Mustangs face off against Monta Vista (3:30 PM) in the consolation bracket.
