Boys Basketball: Slow start dooms Bulldogs in playoff loss to Calabasas
Feb. 20, 2015
ALONSO TACANGA/Valley Press
PALMDALE — Recording two blocks in the first minute Friday night, the energy was there from the beginning from three-time defending Golden League champion Highland at a place where it hadn't lost in two years.
The baskets, however, went MIA for too long against an opponent that proved too difficult to rally against even at home, 10th-seeded Calabasas, in a 62-51 CIF-SS Division 1AA first-round defeat.
"We got off to a slow start," Highland coach Tim Anderson said. "I know they were excited for the game. I think we were nervous coming into it. They were a little overexcited and missed some things we normally would make."
Missed layup after missed layup, the Bulldogs dug themselves an 18-5 first-quarter deficit they never fully recovered from in what became their first home loss since Feb. 15, 2013 against Etiwanda, also in the first round of the playoffs.
Sophomores Deshay Gipson and Kamara Warren Jr. led the Bulldogs (16-10) with 15 points and 11, respectively. The underclassmen expressed disappointment following a game they mostly wanted to win for their senior teammates.
"Me being a sophomore, you understand that it shouldn't mean as much to you as it does to (the seniors), but it does," Gipson said. "I feel like I failed the mission in order to help them leave with something."
Without Gipson on Friday, however, Highland might have never even had a chance.
The guard was the first Bulldog to get anything going offensively in the second quarter, hitting a 3-pointer, making a layup and then finding teammate Kendal Williams for a backdoor layup to cut Calabasas' lead to 20-12.
Another Gipson 3-pointer moments later drew Highland within 27-22 and it was a brand new ball game.
"That kid never stops playing," Anderson said of Gipson, who scored 10 points in the second period. "He's a sophomore, but he has no fear of playing against anybody. He has a bright future."
However, the Coyotes, the 2013-14 Division 2A champions and an at-large participant out of the Marmonte League this season, had a 6-0 answer to finish the period and went into halftime up 33-22.
Using discipline and size, Calabasas' defense would keep Highland well within striking defense the rest of the way.
"Their big guys were tough," Anderson said. "They made us struggle to get open to get shots. They made us work. We got to tip our hats to them. They played well defensively.
"It's kind of hard to fight against a quality team like that once you put yourself in a hole."
The Bulldogs learned that time and time again in the second half as they attempted to rally. Following a 5-0 run that got Highland within 39-27 in the third quarter, Calabasas' Ryan Ducar hit a three. The 'Dogs came back with another basket, but Conner Longmire drilled yet another backbreaking long ball to push his team's lead to 45-29 and force Highland into a timeout.
In the fourth, Highland used a 7-0 run to get within 49-38 with 5:56 left, but the Coyotes scored the next four points to keep the GL champs at bay.
Talk about a buzz kill.
"It seemed like every time we fought our way back, they'd hit a big shot, but that's what good teams do," Anderson said.
Longmire scored 15 points and Ducar added 12 for Calabasas.
After trailing by double digits for all of the second half, Highland, which also lost in the playoffs' first round last season, finally got within single ones after a layup from Warren Jr. cut Calabasas' lead to 57-48 with 54.1 seconds left.
It was too little too late.
"It was a big game," Warren Jr. said. "We were nervous because it could be our seniors' last game for the playoffs. We really wanted this game bad."
It showed from the beginning. Against a superb rival, a slow start would just be too much to overcome on this night.
ALONSO TACANGA/Valley Press
PALMDALE — Recording two blocks in the first minute Friday night, the energy was there from the beginning from three-time defending Golden League champion Highland at a place where it hadn't lost in two years.
The baskets, however, went MIA for too long against an opponent that proved too difficult to rally against even at home, 10th-seeded Calabasas, in a 62-51 CIF-SS Division 1AA first-round defeat.
"We got off to a slow start," Highland coach Tim Anderson said. "I know they were excited for the game. I think we were nervous coming into it. They were a little overexcited and missed some things we normally would make."
Missed layup after missed layup, the Bulldogs dug themselves an 18-5 first-quarter deficit they never fully recovered from in what became their first home loss since Feb. 15, 2013 against Etiwanda, also in the first round of the playoffs.
Sophomores Deshay Gipson and Kamara Warren Jr. led the Bulldogs (16-10) with 15 points and 11, respectively. The underclassmen expressed disappointment following a game they mostly wanted to win for their senior teammates.
"Me being a sophomore, you understand that it shouldn't mean as much to you as it does to (the seniors), but it does," Gipson said. "I feel like I failed the mission in order to help them leave with something."
Without Gipson on Friday, however, Highland might have never even had a chance.
The guard was the first Bulldog to get anything going offensively in the second quarter, hitting a 3-pointer, making a layup and then finding teammate Kendal Williams for a backdoor layup to cut Calabasas' lead to 20-12.
Another Gipson 3-pointer moments later drew Highland within 27-22 and it was a brand new ball game.
"That kid never stops playing," Anderson said of Gipson, who scored 10 points in the second period. "He's a sophomore, but he has no fear of playing against anybody. He has a bright future."
However, the Coyotes, the 2013-14 Division 2A champions and an at-large participant out of the Marmonte League this season, had a 6-0 answer to finish the period and went into halftime up 33-22.
Using discipline and size, Calabasas' defense would keep Highland well within striking defense the rest of the way.
"Their big guys were tough," Anderson said. "They made us struggle to get open to get shots. They made us work. We got to tip our hats to them. They played well defensively.
"It's kind of hard to fight against a quality team like that once you put yourself in a hole."
The Bulldogs learned that time and time again in the second half as they attempted to rally. Following a 5-0 run that got Highland within 39-27 in the third quarter, Calabasas' Ryan Ducar hit a three. The 'Dogs came back with another basket, but Conner Longmire drilled yet another backbreaking long ball to push his team's lead to 45-29 and force Highland into a timeout.
In the fourth, Highland used a 7-0 run to get within 49-38 with 5:56 left, but the Coyotes scored the next four points to keep the GL champs at bay.
Talk about a buzz kill.
"It seemed like every time we fought our way back, they'd hit a big shot, but that's what good teams do," Anderson said.
Longmire scored 15 points and Ducar added 12 for Calabasas.
After trailing by double digits for all of the second half, Highland, which also lost in the playoffs' first round last season, finally got within single ones after a layup from Warren Jr. cut Calabasas' lead to 57-48 with 54.1 seconds left.
It was too little too late.
"It was a big game," Warren Jr. said. "We were nervous because it could be our seniors' last game for the playoffs. We really wanted this game bad."
It showed from the beginning. Against a superb rival, a slow start would just be too much to overcome on this night.