Carrying over the momentum

BOYS BASKETBALL The team enters league, 2-2, after finishing 3-2 in the Wilson Tournament.

Justin Prakaiphetkul, Asst. Sports Editor

After a 10-6 start to the preseason, the Diamond Bar High School boys basketball team began league play with two losses and two wins.

The Brahmas dominated South Hills in their fourth league game, 67-38. In the team’s third league game, the boys defeated Ayala in an overtime thriller, 72-66.

“[The overtime game] was one of those moments where you see the kids growing up. That’s the type of game that throughout the beginning of the year was tough for us,” head coach Henry Frierson said.

The team lost their second league game against the Glendora Tartans, 66-62, while losing a nail biter in their first Palomares League game, 48-45, against Bonita.

Senior captain Kingston Ko cited the team’s defense as the main reason for the low scoring bout. With Ko guarding Bonita’s top scorer, the Brahmas were able to hold the Bearcat’s No. 1 option to well below his season average. Frierson stated that the game set expectations as to how the team must compete on defense for the rest of the season.

Frierson also praised the players collectively working together.

“We have players that excel in different areas. I don’t think there’s one player that we can say is holding up the team,” Frierson said.

Two weeks prior to the season, the boys took part in the Wilson Tournament, finishing with a 3-2 record. The Brahmas won their first tournament game, outscoring Whittier 78-50 in the final three quarters to finish with an 88-58 win. In the next match, the Brahmas beat Wilson 66-40 by scoring a combined 37 points in the second and third quarters compared to Wilson’s 11 points.

The Brahmas lost their next two games, losing 67-56 against Lakewood and falling 58-46 the following day to Upland. In their final game, the boys ended on a positive note, downing La Serna 61-49.

“I don’t think we played that well in the Wilson Tournament. That probably should have been a 4-1 tournament for us,” Frierson said.

The boys finished their preseason with a record of 10-6. Ko attributes the team’s unselfish play as the main contributing factor to their success.

“We pass the ball a lot, and we look for the open man. At this point in the season, the scoring is pretty even. We’re all happy during games and getting touches,” Ko said.

As the team takes on league rivals, it plans to utilize new offensive plays in order to combat opponents’ new defensive schemes.

Ko credits Frierson’s ability to have the team functioning as a single unit as another key reason for the team’s start.

Ko states that Frierson is able to keep the team upbeat through tough losses, while also holding the team from becoming too excited over victories.

Even though the boys suffered a few tough losses at the start of league, Ko maintains that the end goal for the team is to win the CIF title and the league title.

“We just have to keep our head in the game [and] just don’t go away from our plan. Whenever we play according to our plan, we always end up winning or it’s a close game,” Ko said. “We just have to cut down the crucial mistakes towards the end of the game because sometimes towards the end of games, one play can define whether you win or lose.”