IMAGE CREDIT: Brody Hannon Photography
After a tough loss to Notre Dame, the Cubs tried to get back on track as they faced their longtime rivals, the Harvard-Westlake Wolverines, on their foe’s home turf.
Starting Lineup
PG: Jalen Cox, #3 (6’4”, Sr., PG)
SG: Jonas de Krassel, #20 (6’4”, So., SG)
SF: Chase Toliver, #21 (6’4”, Sr., G/F)
PF: Hugh Vandeweghe, #24 (6’7”, So., F/C)
C: Parker Jones, #13 (6’6”, Sr., G/F/C)
First Quarter
The Wolverines win the opening tip and come out swinging, hitting a three at the 7:43 mark and throwing down an authoritative dunk with 7:18 remaining. The latter bucket leads to a Cubs timeout, as they find themselves in a hole in the opening minute of the game. They finally get on the board with a putback layup from Vandeweghe at the seven-minute mark. De Krassel gets a two-pointer to fall with 6:11 remaining, and the Cubs have now made it a 5-4 ball game. The Wolverines then go on a 7-0 run headlined by a three, layup and two made free throws, and the Cubs trail 12-4 with 4:51 remaining. Jones gets to the line with 4:32 to go and makes both. The Wolverines continue to score with ease, hitting a three at the 4:02 mark and a two at the 2:56 mark. Cox and the Wolverines then trade triples with about 2:30 remaining, and the score is 20-9 in favor of Harvard-Westlake. A Wolverine lob-and-layup adds to their total with 2:11 remaining. The Wolverines and Owen Pentz trade threes with 1:30 left. The Wolverines throw down another dunk with 1:02 remaining, and Pentz gets a jumper to go with 34 seconds left. Harvard-Westlake drains another three with five seconds left and the Cubs find themselves with an uphill battle at the end of one.
Score: 30-14 Harvard-Westlake
Second Quarter
The Cubs begin with the ball but miss a shot shortly after. Harvard-Westlake proceeds to put its foot on the gas, going for an 11-1 run that leaves the score at 41-15 with 4:48 remaining. Labuschagne ends it with a jumper at the 4:27 mark. The Wolverines make another three with 4:12 to go. They are fouled with 3:27 remaining but miss both free throws. The Wolverines make another layup at the three-minute mark and build the lead up to 29, 46-17. Peyton Lodge buries a three with 2:20 remaining. Max Stern steals the ball, and the Cubs retain possession with 2:07 left. Though they are unable to capitalize in that moment, their hustle leads to various steals and deflections, as well as a timeout by the Wolverines with 1:37 remaining. Lodge buries another three with 50 seconds left. The Wolverines make an and-one layup with 32 seconds left but miss the following free throw. Matthias Wagner misses a three at the buzzer.
Score: 48-23 Harvard-Westlake
Third Quarter
The Wolverines start the second half the same way they started the first: on a roll. The Cubs tried to play catch-up but allowed the Wolverines to go on a 11-2 run, eventually trailing 59-25 with 5:31 remaining. Harvard-Westlake scored off of threes, dunks and free throws in that span, while the Cubs’ first two points of the half came from Jones’s free throws at the 5:59 mark. The Wolverines made another and-one layup with under five minutes to go but missed the following free throw. De Krassel is fouled with 4:41 remaining and makes one of two. The Wolverines make two free throws with 4:05 to go, and the Cubs now trail 60-28. A defensive breakdown by Loyola leads to an easy Wolverine jam with 3:42 left in the period. Cox drains a deep triple with under three minutes left and the Wolverines airball a three right after. The Wolverines redeem themselves, however, drilling a three with under two minutes left to go up 65-31 on the Cubs. Kelly commits a foul with 41 seconds remaining and gets a technical on top of that, which leads to four total free throws for the Wolverines. They make two of them and retain possession but fail to capitalize. Cox steals the ball with eight seconds to go and Jones buries a transition three five seconds later to beat the clock.
Score: 67-34 Harvard-Westlake
Fourth Quarter
The Wolverines have the ball to begin the final frame but immediately miss a three. Cox is fouled with 7:29 to play and makes one of two. The Wolverines get a layup to go with 7:11 left, and they make two free throws with 6:53 remaining. They make two more with 6:06 to go and lead the Cubs 73-35. Stern gets a triple with 5:45 remaining, and the Wolverines score another layup with 5:26 to go. Wagner makes two free throws with 5:14 left. The Wolverines cruise to the rim for a layup with 4:40 remaining. They then go to the free throw line with 3:18 to play and make one of two. Chad Crisostomo finds Labuschagne for an easy two with 2:44 left. “Lab” draws the charge on the next possession. Lodge sinks his third three of the night with 1:30 to play. Crisostomo goes all the way to the basket for a made layup with under a minute to play, and Stern lays it up and in with 20 seconds to spare. The Cubs head home after facing three league rivals in five days, falling to their biggest one by 30 points.
FINAL: 79-49 Harvard-Westlake
Postgame
After the game, coach Powell acknowledged the team’s subpar defense, but he also praised the effort that every player gave on the floor. Despite the loss, the Cubs’ depth showed once again, with players who usually receive very few minutes being asked to contribute and becoming energizers off the bench.
Parker Jones and Peyton Lodge led all Cub scorers with nine points apiece.
For more of Brody's photos from tonight's game, check out the full album here.
The Next Game
The Cubs play the Chaminade Eagles at Leavey Gym on Monday, Jan. 17, at 2:00 PM.