The 2021-22 varsity basketball season officially began with the Cubs facing the Castaic Coyotes in the 32nd Annual Paul Sutton Tip Off Classic.

Starting Lineup

PG: Jalen Cox, #3 (6’0”, Sr., G)

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

SF: Luca Labuschagne, #22 (6’4”, Jr, F)

PF: Hugh Vandeweghe, #24 (6’6”, So., F/C)

C: Parker Jones, #13 (6’6”, Sr, G/C)

First Quarter

The Coyotes win the tip, but miss a three to start the game.  They eventually drill a three at the 7:10 mark.  De Krassell comes up with a steal and Hugh Vandeweghe lays it up and in for the Cubs’ first points of the day with 6:40 left in the quarter.  Cox then gets a steal and layup at the 6:18 mark to give the Cubs a 4-3 lead.  The Coyotes respond with a layup with six minutes to go.  Parker Jones, the sharpshooting senior, drills a triple to give Loyola a 7-5 lead with 5:38 left.  The Cubs add to their lead with a tough layup by de Krassel at the 4:30 mark.  Back-to-back blocks from Jones lead to an and-one layup by de Krassel, who misses the following free throw.  The Cubs lead 11-5 with four minutes to go.  This brief run is ended with a Coyote three at the 3:49 mark.  From then on, the Cubs are unstoppable, going on a 15-0 run to end the quarter, including made free throws from Labuschagne and Matthias Wagner, a three-peat of steals that lead to easy layups, and a three-point-play from Vincent Sampson.

Score: 26-8 Loyola

Second Quarter

The starters reemerge for the second quarter.  After the teams trade turnovers, Cox gets an easy two off a Vandeweghe dime to get a 20-point lead with under seven minutes to go.  Cox gets fouled with 6:31 left, but misses both free throws.  An offensive rebound on the second miss leads to a layup by Jones at the 6:15 mark.  Back-to-back threes by the Coyotes shrink the lead to sixteen, 30-14, with 5:14 left in the half.  Cox gets a steal but misses a wide-open jam that would have had the whole bench on its feet.  A heat check three by Castaic makes it a 35-17 ball game with 4:40 left.  Senior Peyton Lodge drills a corner three, hitting Carmelo Anthony’s “three to the dome” celebration as the Cubs lead 38-17 with three minutes left in the half.  Sampson gets a steal and layup with 2:20 remaining, but the Coyotes respond with a layup of their own with under two minutes to go.  Another Lodge three makes the bench go crazy, and the Cubs lead 43-19 with 1:43 left.  Loyola continues its hot streak with a putback layup from Sampson at the 1:15 mark and a three ball by senior Jeric Calleja with 50 seconds left.  Calleja drops a dime to Owen Pentz, who lays it up and in with 30 seconds to go.  The Cubs enter the locker room after a 15-2 run that puts them up by 31 at halftime.

Score: 50-19 Loyola

Third Quarter

The Coyotes get the ball to begin the second half, and the Cubs continue their great defensive play, getting a stop before de Krassel drains a three at the 7:30 mark.  The Coyotes end a two-minute scoring drought with a layup with 5:34 remaining, though Loyola still leads 53-21.  De Krassel buries another three with under five minutes left, and the Cubs now have a 25-point lead.  Castaic drills a jumper at the 4:30 mark.  Cox gets a steal and a three with 3:53 left, and the Cubs lead 59-23.  This forces the Coyotes to take another timeout, unable to stop Loyola’s offensive firepower.  Castaic is able to make a three with 2:49 left.  Sampson gets a layup off an inbounds pass, and gets a technical foul in the process.  The Coyotes, however, are unable to make both technical free throws, and the Cubs lead 61-26 with 2:14 left.  Castaic gets fouled on a three with 2:07 to go, and makes two free throws.  Wagner finishes a nifty reverse layup with under two minutes left, and the lead is now 63-28.  Stern’s layup at the 1:18 mark increases the lead.  The Cubs get a steal and Wagner gets fouled with 1:11 left.  He makes one of two free throws as juniors Joe Longo and Chad Crisostomo check in.  Junior Joshua Ferguson gets a steal and earns his first points as a varsity player off a layup with 20 seconds to go as the Cubs lead 70-28.  “Iso Joe” Longo’s first bucket as a varsity player is a three pointer to end the quarter.

Score: 73-28 Loyola

Fourth Quarter

The Cubs open the final frame with Longo, Crisostomo, Stern, Lodge, and Calleja.  A Coyote three bounces in with 7:50 left, but the Cubs still lead 73-31.  Calleja gets fouled at the 7:29 mark, and makes one of two from the stripe.  Another Coyote triple cuts the lead down to 40 with 6:04 remaining.  Crisostomo eurosteps his way to a layup that gets the bench out of their seats with under six minutes to play.  The Cubs get another layup thanks to Calleja with 4:40 left, and the Coyotes respond with a triple ten seconds later.  The Cubs lead 76-37, and a three-point-play from Stern increases it to 79-37 with 3:42 remaining.  Another scoring drought from both teams is broken by two Coyote layups in the final minute of the game.  The Cubs emerge victorious, and head coach Damaine Powell earns his first win as the newest leader of the varsity Cubs.

FINAL: 79-41 Loyola

Postgame

Following his first win, coach Powell said, “It felt great.  We’re all a little anxious our first time together.  We know we’ve been working on some good things, and we wanted to see how it showed up in the first real game.”  He added, “I was just proud of the guys.  We got a special group of guys here, and I know the sky’s the limit for this group.”

Given that the Cubs’ tallest players are Jones and Vandeweghe at 6’6”, there is somewhat of a disadvantage in the height department, particularly when facing opposing centers that are two or three inches taller.  When asked how he was able to adjust, Powell remarked, “We got two great players: Parker Jones and Jalen Cox.  Those guys are as good as there is in the entire state, so everything we do goes through those guys.  We got guys that can handle and shoot.  We’re hoping to overcome our lack of size with skill and shooting and two great guards.”

Cub of the Game: Jonas de Krassel ‘24

The Cub of the Game was the Cubs’ leading scorer, Jonas de Krassel ‘24, who had 12 points.  When asked to describe his first varsity game, he said, “It felt good.  I couldn’t have done it without my teammates.  They shared the ball really well, played good defense.  It was a good team win.”  He also mentioned he wants to make an impact every time he’s on the floor.

Next Game

The Cubs face the host of the tournament, the Providence Pioneers, tomorrow, November 17, at 6:30 PM.