After a blowout win against Littlerock, the Cubs looked to survive and advance in the San Gabriel Valley Classic in a matchup against the Hart Indians, which head coach Damaine Powell described as a “dogfight”.

Starting Lineup

PG: Jalen Cox, #3 (6’3”, Sr., G)

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

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

PF: Jacoby Kelly, #14 (6’3”, Sr., G/F)

C: Parker Jones, #13 (6’6”, Sr., F/C)

First Quarter

Jones wins the opening tip for the Cubs, and Cox finds Sampson for a layup in the first five seconds of the game, the same play they ran against Santa Fe on Saturday.  Jones buries a three with under seven minutes remaining, and the lead is 5-0 Cubs.  The 6’6” senior strikes again, getting a layup to fall at the 6:20 mark.  The Indians drain a three with 6:05 remaining.  A Jones steal leads to a de Krassel layup with 5:20 left, and the Cubs have a 11-3 lead.  The Indians are sent to the line with 5:04 to go and make one of two.  Cox buries a three with 4:20 remaining.  The Indians drain a two-pointer at the 3:43 mark, and Jones counters with a two of his own.  Hart buries another three with 3:18 remaining.  Cox passes to Jones, who gives it right back to Cox for an easy two with under three minutes left.  The Cubs lead 18-9.  Hart buries consecutive triples to cut the lead to three with 2:13 to go.  Jones is fouled with 1:56 remaining and makes one of two to make it a 20-15 ball game.  The Indians cannot miss from the perimeter, drilling another three with 30 seconds remaining to cut the lead to two.  Cox gets called for a charging foul with three seconds left, and the period ends.

Score: 20-18 Loyola

Second Quarter

The Indians get the ball to begin the second quarter.  A steal by Owen Pentz leads to a de Krassel three with 7:30 remaining.  Jacoby Kelly swats a shot by Hart, who retains possession with seven minutes left.  The Indians miss a three off the inbounds pass.  Jones drills a three on the other end with 6:35 remaining, and the Cubs lead 26-18.  Both teams commit fouls and cannot score.  The drought is broken with a three ball from Pentz with 4:45 to go.  The Indians get a steal but miss the open layup.  Pentz gets a putback layup to fall with 4:15 remaining.  After two offensive rebounds by the Cubs, Cox makes a layup with under four minutes to go.  De Krassel steals the ball, and Jones finds Cox for an easy layup with 3:15 left.  The score is 35-21 Cubs.  Hart drains a three at the three-minute mark, and Jones buries a deep three to counter.  Both teams trade layups with two minutes left, and Cox makes a three with 1:33 to go as the Cubs lead 43-23.  Cox gets two more off a jumper with a minute left in the half.  The Indians are fouled with 39 seconds remaining and make both free throws.  A Hugh hookshot gives the Cubs a 22-point lead with 18 seconds left, and Jones misses a half-court heave to end the first half.

Score: 47-25 Loyola

Third Quarter

The Cubs get possession to begin the second half but Jones misses a layup off a lob pass from Matthias Wagner.  The first points of the quarter come at the 6:50 mark, as a de Krassel steal leads to a Pentz layup.  The Indians make a layup with 6:15 remaining.  De Krassel buries another three with 5:05 left, and the Cubs lead 52-27.  He buries another one–his third of the contest–at the 4:25 mark.  The Indians make consecutive layups, but the Cubs still lead 55-29 with 3:40 to go.  Jones makes a layup 20 seconds later.  De Krassel makes yet another three with 2:30 remaining to give the Cubs a 60-31 lead.  The Indians make a jumper with 2:16 to go.  Kelly is sent to the line with 1:47 left and makes one of two.  Jones throws a lob pass to Wagner, who finishes with a layup at the 1:30 mark.  Jones gets a block, but an offensive rebound by Hart gives them an opportunity at the free-throw line with 19 seconds left.  They make one of two and eventually airball a three to end the quarter.

Score: 63-35 Loyola

Fourth Quarter

Hart gets the ball to begin the final frame.  Vandeweghe banks in a two-pointer with seven minutes to play.  Sampson gets a steal, and Cox finds de Krassel for his fifth three of the game with 6:10 remaining.  Joshua Ferguson is sent to the line with 5:55 left.  He makes one of two but gets his own rebound and makes a putback layup.  The score is now 71-37 Cubs.  The Indians make two free throws with 5:32 to go, and make a triple at the 3:30 mark.  Joe Longo makes a two-point jumper with 2:50 left.  Hart buries a three with 2:15 remaining.  Longo eurosteps around his defender and banks in a layup with 1:20 to go.  The Indians make another three with 1:10 remaining.  Peyton Lodge lays it up and in with 43 seconds to play.  The Indians miss both free throws with 32 seconds left, but get the offensive rebound and bury a three.  The Cubs dribble it out and attain their ninth straight win this season.

FINAL: 77-51 Loyola

Cubs of the Game

Today’s Cubs of the Game were Parker Jones and Jonas de Krassel, who had 17 points each, the latter burying five threes.  Both of them were featured in a postgame interview along with Peyton Lodge, which can be found in the “videos” section.

The Next Game

The Cubs face Aquinas High School in the tournament semifinals tomorrow, December 22, at 3:00 PM.