Bulldogs give up 11-point lead in loss to Monarchs
Morgan Hill – The Sobrato boys basketball team gave up an 11-point halftime lead to fall to Mt. Eden 68-66 on Wednesday.
With the loss, the Bulldogs fall to 1-3 on the season.
Coach Lawrence Crawford said Mt. Eden was able to hit the team hard with 3-pointers, then come back inside to the post to kill the Bulldogs’ hopes of getting their second win.
“They had one kid hit five 3s and another hit three,” Crawford said. “That is kind of tough to overcome. (Then) in the second half, their post player went to work and scored 17 points. … He just pretty much dominated the inside area.”
The Bulldogs were able to knock down six from 3-point land that were distributed among several players.
After battling in the first half, Crawford said the team didn’t come out of the locker room with the same intensity.
“In the third quarter, we came out and played flat,” Crawford said. “That is when they closed the game primarily.”
In the fourth quarter, the Monarchs continued with their momentum and were able to increase their lead to nearly 10 points.
With the clock ticking down, the Bulldogs were able regain their composure and battle back.
“Once again (however), we came up short,” Crawford said.
Leading the way for the Bulldogs were seniors Marqus Crawford with 21 points and Mubarik Abdullahi with 17.
Crawford said he was pleased with the efforts of the two players who are the leading point scores for the team.
“One of the things that encouraged me was that I don’t think either of them played particularly well,” Crawford said. “They played at times pretty good, but other times I thought they could have played a whole lot better.”
Crawford said that when teams lose close games like this one, it can either be a motivator or a hindrance depending on how the players react to the loss.
“Tough losses can make you or break you,” Crawford said. “They can reinforce that you are always in the game and can be successful. Or you can go down the path that you can’t win close ones. We won’t believe the latter.”
Sobrato next hits the court on Tuesday against Oak Grove when the Bulldogs play their first game of the season in their home gym.
“That is another point of encouragement that we will be at our real home against Oak Grove and they are going to bring it,” Crawford said.
Girls Basketball
Dublin – A 37-point first half propelled the Sobrato girls basketball team to a 64-45 win over Valley Christian Dublin on Monday.
The girls improve to 1-1 on the season.
Freshman Shealyn Kunze led Sobrato with 16 points. She was followed by freshman Melissa Cachopo with 14 points and sophomore Sarina Santiago with 12.
