Diamond Bar basketball blackout against rivals
Brahmas boys basketball fought hard in the grueling, annual Blackout game against Walnut High School on Friday but lost, 57-41, unable to stop the Mustangs three point shooters.
Both teams’ shooting was cold to start the game. Diamond Bar could only get a three to drop from senior Myles Corey in the first quarter, while Walnut scored 9 points, most from pull-up jumpers from 10 feet away from the basket.
The Brahma’s offense had little movement in the first quarter with no one setting up a post-up for senior Mike Gao. The players mostly stayed in the perimeter.
The Mustangs had a better penetration game, weaving in and out the Brahmas defense, looking for kick-out threes or contested layups. Through the drives, the Mustangs were able to get a couple chances at the free-throw line, both players making their free throws. The Mustangs led at the end of the quarter, 9-3.
In the second quarter, the Brahmas’ offense started to roll. They were able to get the ball down in the low post to Gao, but he was always double teamed by the Walnut defense. The point guard as well as shooting guard on the Mustangs caused much trouble for the Brahmas defense, with the shooting guard sinking two 3s for the Mustangs.
However, senior Justin Herrera got the Diamond Bar crowd hyped up with a quick in-and-out crossover move to make his defender sit on the floor, getting an easy two points. Though the momentum was on Diamond Bar’s side, the team couldn’t make any three-point shots to cut down the Mustang lead. The Brahmas couldn’t stop the Mustangs offense, allowing Walnut to extend their lead to 14 points and finishing the first half 29-13.
In the third quarter, the Brahma offense became more reckless. Corey was called for two offensive fouls on his drives to the basket. Though Gao struggled to get a one-on-one down low,when he did, he was able to score or pass out for a three by senior Bryan Reyes or senior Gavin Clements. Again, the Mustangs continued to perform well offensively, driving and shooting well. The Mustangs were able to end the quarter with an even larger lead, 44-22.
In the last quarter, the Brahmas made a valiant effort to turn the game around, but were unable to overcome the large Mustang lead. They played a full-court press that resulted in steals, but couldn’t finish the layups. Their chances of victory were killed by Diamond Bar’s free throw shooting; Brahmas missed 13 of 25.
The Brahmas next game is Nov. 26 against Charter Oak in the San Dimas Tournament.
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