IMAGE CREDIT: Brody Hannon '22

After going 20-6 in the regular season and 3-3 in the Mission League, the Cubs entered the CIF Southern Section Division 1 Playoffs and faced the Fountain Valley Barons on the road.

Starting Lineup

PG: Matthias Wagner, #12 (6’1”, Sr., G)

SG: Jonas de Krassel, #20 (6’4”, Sr., G/F)

SF: Chase Toliver, #21 (6’4”, Sr., F)

PF: Vincent Sampson, #30 (6’1”, Sr., F/C)

C: Parker Jones, #13 (6’6”, Sr., G/F/C)

First Quarter

Jones wins the opening tip for the Cubs, but the Barons get a steal and airball a three with 7:28 left.  Jones gets a steal with 6:25 left, but misses a two-pointer with 6:04 remaining.  Both teams cannot find the bottom of the net until the Barons make a two with 5:51 remaining.  The Cubs still cannot score until Cox gets a steal and an and-one with 4:33 remaining.  He misses the following free throw.  Cox gets another steal at the 4:05 mark and the Cubs retain possession.  Cox drills a three with 3:40 left, and the Cubs lead 5-2.  He notches his third steal of the night at the 3:28 mark, but it remains Baron ball.  De Krassel gets a steal and two-pointer with 3:04 remaining.  The Barons drain a three with 2:41 left, and the Cubs call timeout with 2:07 to go.  An Owen Pentz steal leads to a Jones jam with 1:40 remaining.  Cox is sent to the line with 1:18 left and drains both, putting the Cubs up 11-5.  He buries a three with five seconds left, and the quarter ends with the Cubs on top. 

Score: 14-5 Loyola

Second Quarter

Fountain Valley gets the ball to begin the second quarter, and they bury a three with 7:40 remaining.  A hookshot by Hugh gives the Cubs a 16-8 lead with 7:20 left.  Jones blocks a layup, but the Barons get a putback layup to fall with under seven minutes remaining.  Cox makes a layup with 6:37 left.  Sampson winds up on the wrong end of a highlight play, as a Baron makes a three off of quite the crossover.  The Cubs still lead 18-13 with 6:08 remaining.  Coach Powell calls a timeout with five minutes to go.  Cox and the Barons trade layups at the 4:17 and 4:07 marks, respectively.  The Barons throw down an emphatic dunk with 3:37 left and make it a three-point game, 20-17.  They get a steal but miss a three with 3:10 to go.  Jones gets an and-one layup to go with 2:06 remaining but misses the following free throw.  Cox gets another steal, and de Krassel gets two via goaltending with 1:24 remaining.  Fountain Valley drills a three with 1:06 to go.  Cox drains a two with eight seconds remaining, and the Barons brick a three at the buzzer.

Score: 26-20 Loyola

Assistant coach Art Mayfield told the team, “That was our best defensive half all season.”

Third Quarter

The Cubs get the ball to begin the second half, but cannot add any points to their total.  The Barons bank in a three with 7:04 remaining.  Wagner lays it up and in with 6:30 left, and the Cubs lead 28-22.  Jones gets a steal but Sampson is blocked with 6:11 remaining.  The Barons drain another three with six minutes left, and it’s a 28-25 ball game.  Sampson gets a layup to fall with 5:42 remaining.  Jones drills a three at the 5:16 mark.  The Barons make a three with five minutes left and a layup with 4:36 to go.  Toliver buries a three of his own at the four-minute mark, and the Cubs lead 36-29.  Jacoby Kelly draws a charge with 3:15 to go.  The Barons bury a deep three with 2:37 left.  Cox gets a layup at the 1:37 mark and a two-pointer with under a minute left.  The Barons make two free throws with 46 seconds left, and Jones makes a jumper with 20 seconds to go.  The quarter ends with the Cubs up by eight.

Score: 42-34 Loyola

Fourth Quarter

The Barons get possession to start the final frame, and after multiple offensive rebounds, they get an and-one to go with 6:50 left.  They miss the following free throw.  De Krassell makes two free throws with 6:22 to go, and the Cubs are up 44-36.  The Barons get a steal and slam with under six minutes left.  Cox is sent to the line at the five-minute mark and makes one of two.  A Jones steal leads to a JC jumper with 4:30 remaining.  Jones gets a block, but Cox is called for an illegal screen with 3:53 to play.  The Cubs call a timeout immediately after.  The Barons make two free throws with 3:31 left.  They get a two-pointer to fall with 2:42 remaining, and suddenly it’s a 47-42 Loyola lead.  Fountain Valley calls a timeout at the two-minute mark.  Jones is sent to the line with 1:26 to go and makes one of two.  He gets the offensive rebound, however, which leads to a spin move and layup by Cox with a minute to play.  The Barons refuse to quit, drilling a three with 47 seconds left to make it a 50-45 Cub lead.  Cox is fouled with 46 seconds left, putting the Cubs in the bonus.  He makes both free throws.  The Barons make two free throws on the other end with 45 seconds left.  The Cubs call a timeout at the 36-second mark.  Cox makes two more clutch free throws with 34 seconds remaining.  The Barons make one of two with 21 seconds left.  Jones makes two free throws with 19 seconds remaining, and the Cubs survive and advance to the second round of the CIF Southern Section Division 1 Playoffs.

FINAL: 56-48 Loyola

Postgame

Jalen Cox ‘22 finished with 29 points.  My postgame interview with him can be found here.

Parker Jones ‘22 had 12 points.

For more of Brody's photos of tonight's game, click here.

The Next Game

In the second round, the Cubs play Etiwanda at Leavey Gym on Tuesday, Feb. 15, at a time to be determined.  Follow the schedule for more details.