A Great Effort

In the first quarter, McAuliffe played their inside game as they had the advantage of having bigger sized players. This helped them capture the lead, 14-11. In the second quarter, CSDR became fatigued after trying to keep up with McAuliffe as they went on a fast break spree and taking second shots. At halftime, CSDR was down 39-21.

After halftime, though, CSDR re-entered the game with a different defense and their mentality rebounded as well. They came back and won the third quarter 15-11. In the last quarter, CSDR kept pushing their defense and offense both and had a 6-0 run. This helped the Cubs come back to within 4 points. But with 2 minutes left in the game, McAuliffe still had the lead, by 5 points. CSDR missed two easy baskets and made one turnover, which forced us to foul to stop the game clock. CSDR did win the fourth quarter as well, but it was not enough to win the game. McAuliffe walked away with the 70-61 win.

“We were outsized, out-talented, and outrebounded by McAuliffe. But we played smarter and we ‘out-hearted’ them. Our boys just realized that we were smarter than them in the second half. If we hadn’t let them score 25 in the second half, we could have won the game. McAuliffe can easily be the best team that we face in our schedule this year. I am proud of our boys because they did not give up in the second half. That shows our team’s character,” stated Coach Valencia.

CSDR (4-3) will return to the Grizzly Tournament in Downey to play vs. Southerlands at 3:00 p.m. this afternoon, Tuesday December 15.