After a come-from-behind victory over Monte Vista, the Cubs looked to bring home the gold in the championship game of the Sand Dune Classic.

Starting Cubs:

PG: John Belardi, #12 (6’3”, G, Jr.)

SG: Andre Parris, #13 (6’3”, G/F, Sr.)

SF: Jack Kresich, #10 (6’7”, F, Jr.)

PF: Remington Rofer, #35 (6’8”, F/C, Jr.)

C: Colby Brooks, #20 (6’7”, C, Sr.)

1st Quarter

SI’s 6’4” center won the tip for the Wildcats.  They got on the board first with a layup at the 7:30 mark.  Belardi responded with a layup of his own, and the score was tied at 2 with 7:20 remaining.  The Wildcats were sent to the free-throw line and made both of them to take a 4-2 lead with 7:04 to go.  The Wildcats splashed a three to put the Cubs in a five-point hole with 6:30 remaining. Brooks’ jumper got the Cubs within three, 7-4, with 6:11 remaining.  The Wildcats were sent to the line again and made one of two free throws. They had an 8-4 lead. Kresich swished a jumper inside, and the Wildcats countered with a layup to take a 10-6 lead with five minutes to play in the opening period.  Brooks and the Wildcats traded layups, and the score was now 12-8 with 4:05 remaining. The Wildcats continued to take control of the quarter with a steal and a three with 3:32 to go. The first substitution came for the Cubs, with Uri Ferguson checking in for Belardi at the 3:20 layup.  Uri got a steal and was fouled, sending him to the stripe with 2:33 left. He made one of two free throws and Grant Roquemore checked in for Rofer. The Wildcats buried another three to go up 18-9 on the Cubs with 2:12 left. Brooks hit another layup with less than two minutes to go. The Wildcats continued their streak from three, burying another one with a foul.  They missed the following free throw, but now led by 10 with 1:34 left. Christian Sucuveanu and Jalen Cox checked in for Parris and Kresich shortly after. The Wildcats drilled another three and now led by 13 with 55 seconds left. Roquemore made a layup with 30 seconds left, and Cox buried a tough three at the buzzer to get the Cubs back in the game.

Score: 24-16 Wildcats

2nd Quarter

The Wildcats hit another three with seven minutes left to go up by 11 once again.  Belardi checked in for Uri at the 6:29 mark. Kresich hit another layup to cut the Wildcats’ lead back into single digits with 6:10 left.  SI was sent back to the stripe and made one of two free throws to take a 10-point lead over the Cubs. Rofer came in for Sucuveanu, putting him at the center position for the Cubs.  A Cox steal led to a Roquemore layup, withering the lead to eight, 28-20, with 5:30 left. The Wildcats responded with a layup on their end with 5:12 to go. Rofer buried a three at the 4:39 mark.  The Wildcats still led 30-23. The rest of the starters came in after an SI timeout at the 4:35 mark. The Wildcats made a layup to go up by nine with 4:20 to go. After back-to-back layups by Belardi and Brooks, the lead decreased to five with 1:28 to go in the first half.  The Wildcats buried a three with 34 seconds remaining, and Belardi’s shot was blocked at the buzzer.

Score: 37-27 Wildcats

3rd Quarter

Back-to-back Wildcat misses from three opened up the second half.  The Cubs took charge and went on a 14-0 run, taking the lead off of a Brooks steal and layup with 2:44 to go.  A Wildcats lob was broken up by Grant Roquemore, but a foul following the play sent the WIldcats back to the line.  They made one of two free throws and cut the Cubs’ lead to three with 1:27 to go. The Wildcats made a three-point play to tie the game at 41 with 37 seconds left, setting up a fantastic final frame.

Score: Tied at 41

4th Quarter

The Wildcats regained the lead on a layup at the 7:45 mark.  Uri was fouled on a three with 7:26 to play and made both free throws to tie the game at 43.  The Wildcats retained possession after a G-Roq rejection with 7:02 left. The Wildcats made a layup to take a 45-43 lead with 6:43 to go,  The Cub starters came in afterward. The Wildcats were sent to the line once again and made both free throws to go up by four with 6:42 remaining.  Kresich’s layup got the Cubs within two with six minutes to go. Rofer took a charge (his 16th of the season), giving the Cubs the ball once again. Brooks’ pair of made free throws tied the game at 47 with 5:53 to go.  The Cubs would not quit, as Belardi’s triple gave them the lead with three minutes left. The Wildcats countered with a three of their own to tie the game at 50 with 4:30 remaining. The Cubs went on a 6-0 run before the Wildcats called a timeout with 2:09 to play.  They made a layup to cut the Cubs’ lead to four with 1:55 remaining. The Cubs made a costly turnover that sent the Wildcats to the line once again. They made both free throws to come within two, 56-54, with 1:19 left. The Cubs called a timeout afterward. Kresich came in the clutch once again, making a layup to increase the lead to four with a minute left.  The Wildcats made a layup with 38 seconds to go and immediately used their final timeout. Belardi was sent to the line again with 18 seconds left. He made one of two free throws to give the Cubs a narrow three-point lead. The Cubs did an excellent job running SI off the three-point line in the final possession, as the Wildcats settled for a layup at the buzzer.

FINAL: 59-58 Cubs

Postgame

Coach Adams told the team that this game was good preparation for the Mission League, and also praised Jack Kresich, who has become a remarkable post player as of late.

In terms of what he wants to see improved in January, Coach Adams said, “We gotta become a better and more efficient half-court offensive team, that’s for sure.  Defensively, I think it’s a matter of staying locked into our principles. When we start to do things we don’t practice is when teams get easy buckets. When we lock into the things that we’re working on and our principles, things go really, really well for us.”

Cubs of the Game

The Cubs of the Game were Jack Kresich, Andre Parris, and Colby Brooks.  Parris and Kresich were named to the All-Tournament team, and Brooks was awarded the tournament MVP.  Coach Adams said he’s supremely proud of them. He stated, “Jack was coming back from knee surgery. Andre might have played all of 20 minutes last year as a junior,  He put in a lot of work. Colby is such a talented kid, and I ride him really hard. He responds, and he’s getting better and better and better. I’m hoping that these types of performances are gonna allow him to get where he wants to be, which is playing next year in college.”

The Next Game

The Cubs will participate in the Take Flight Challenge at Santa Monica College on January 4, when they take on the Leuzinger High School Olympians at 1:00 pm.