Following a win over Leuzinger in the Take Flight Challenge, the Cubs looked to achieve their first win in the Mission League as they visited the Alemany Warriors.

Starting Cubs:

PG: John Belardi, #12 (6’3”, G, Jr.)

SG: Andre Parris, #13 (6’3”, G, Sr.)

SF: Jack Kresich, #10 (6’7”, G/F, Jr.)

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

C: Colby Brooks, #20 (6’7”, C, Sr.)

1st Quarter

Brooks won the opening tip for the Cubs, but couldn’t strike first as Parris missed a three with 7:50 to go.  The Warriors got on the board with a layup at the 7:26 mark. Parris stole the ball and Kresich made a layup to give the Cubs their first points with seven minutes left.  The Warriors proceeded to go on a 7-0 run and led 9-2 with 5:20 to go. The Warriors’ streak was stopped when Kresich was sent to the line with 5:17 remaining. He made one of two free throws.  Off of the missed free throw, Parris grabbed the offensive rebound but the Cubs couldn’t capitalize as Brooks missed a three. A kicked ball by the Warriors gave the Cubs another possession with 4:40 left.  The Cubs took advantage of the extra opportunity, with Brooks making a layup to get the lead down to four with 4:25 remaining. The Cubs kept rolling, as a Belardi block led to a Kresich three that suddenly withered the Warriors’ lead to one with 3:50 to go.  The Warriors responded with a three of their own and led 12-8 with 3:15 remaining. Rofer was sent to the line at the 2:58 mark where he made both free throws to cut the deficit to two. Uri Ferguson checked in for Brooks shortly after, putting Rem at the center position.  A Parris layup tied the game at 12 with 2:20 to go, but the Warriors answered with a layup to regain the lead. An and-one layup by the Warriors put the Cubs down by five, 17-12, with 1:18 to go. Cox made a layup at the one-minute mark, bringing the Cubs back within striking distance.  Ferguson stole the ball but missed the jumper with 40 seconds to go. The Warriors made a layup at the 30-second mark. The quarter ended with a putback layup by Rofer at the buzzer, and the Cubs were down by three.

Score: 19-16 Warriors

2nd Quarter

The Warriors got possession of the ball to begin the quarter.  A steal by Belardi led to a Sucuveanu putback layup with 7:30 remaining, and the Cubs were again down by one.  A scoring drought by both teams was ended with a Warriors layup, giving them a 21-18 lead with 5:50 remaining. Cox made another layup at the 5:30 mark.  The Warriors buried two triples and led 27-20 with 4:30 left in the half. A Cubs foul sent the Warriors into the bonus with 4:07 left, and they missed a free throw.  Nick Green made a layup with 3:50 remaining, and the Cubs were down by five. The Warriors could not be stopped, as they buried a three to increase their lead to eight with three minutes left.  Belardi answered with a layup at the 2:45 mark. Rofer’s pair of made free throws got the Cubs closer, as they were down four with 1:25 left. Another Cubs foul sent the Warriors to the line. They sank both free throws and led 32-26 with 1:16 to go.  Sucuveanu’s layup got the Cubs within four with a minute remaining, but the Warriors buried another three with 20 seconds left to take a commanding seven-point lead into the break.

Score: 35-28 Warriors

3rd Quarter

The Cubs got the ball to start the second half and chipped away at the Warriors’ lead with a Kresich layup at the 7:44 mark.  The Warriors made another three-point play and led 38-30 with 7:14 left. Brooks made a layup with 6:30 to go. The Cubs inched closer with a Kresich layup at the 6:20 mark and trailed by four. The Warriors made a layup to lead by six, 40-34, with six minutes remaining.  A big three by Kresich hoped to ignite another Cubs run as they were down by three with 5:38 left in the quarter. The Warriors answered with a layup on the other end and led 42-37 with 5:20 remaining. Another Kresich three gave the Cubs more momentum as they were only down two with 5:12 left.  The Warriors kept getting to the basket with ease, making another layup and again leading by four with 4:40 remaining. The Cubs’ hot streak from three continued. This time, it was Andre Parris’s turn. He buried a triple to get the Cubs within one, 44-43, with 3:30 left. The Cubs kept getting into foul trouble, sending the Warriors to the line again with 3:20 to go.  They made both free throws to take a three-point lead. The Warriors stole the ball and buried another three with 2:30 remaining. The Cubs could not take care of the basketball on the other end. They turned it over again, but this time they were bailed out thanks to missed shots by the Warriors. Green’s layup cut the lead back to four with 1:20 left. The Warriors’ swished another triple with 25 seconds left, and Kresich countered with a layup at the 10-second mark.  The Cubs’ defense faltered on the last possession as a wide-open Warrior triple found the bottom of the basket.

Score: 55-47 Warriors

4th Quarter

The Cubs got the ball to begin the final frame, hoping for another fourth-quarter comeback.  The Warriors seemingly could not miss from behind the arc, as they buried another triple to lead by double digits, 58-47, with 7:13 to play.  Back-to-back Warrior layups forced the Cubs to call a timeout with 6:06 left. The Warriors led by 15, the largest margin of the game. Brooks’ layup at the five-minute mark ended the Warriors’ 7-0 run.  Brooks scored again with a putback layup, and the Cubs trailed 62-51 with 4:18 remaining. Belardi was sent to the line with 3:22 left, and made one of two free throws. The Warriors got another layup to go with 3:05 to go and led 64-52.  The Warriors added to their lead with a pair of made free throws. Brooks struck again with a jumper to get the Cubs within 12 with 2:40 left. The Cubs continued to attack the Warriors’ lead, cutting it to 10 off of a Kresich layup at the 2:06 mark.  The Cubs struggled with keeping several starters out of foul trouble in the fourth quarter, as the Warriors were sent to the line again with 1:52 to go. They made one of two free throws. A Warriors’ layup put the Cubs in a 13-point hole with 1:25 to play.  Brooks fouled out of the game after committing an offensive foul with 1:14 remaining. The Warriors missed both of the following free throws. Rofer was fouled with 38 seconds left, but he also missed both free throws. Parris was sent to the line with 23 seconds to play as the Cubs entered the bonus.  He buried both of them to cut the deficit to 11. Rofer stole the ball, but he was fouled on a missed dunk with 12 seconds remaining. He made one of two free throws. Ferguson was fouled with four seconds to go, and he made both free throws to end the game.

FINAL: 69-61 Warriors

Postgame

Assistant coach Chad Yates said that every night in the Mission League will be a war.  “The separation from all the teams are minimal,” he said. “Every game is gonna be a 10-point game or less, either way.  Whichever team comes out, executes the game plan, follows the scouting report, and plays hard is gonna come out on top.”

Communication, defense, and fouling hindered the Cubs throughout the game.  Yates said, “Today, we couldn’t keep guys out of the paint. We couldn’t grab defensive rebounds.  We couldn’t play without fouling. That hurt us and put us in a deficit.” “Tomorrow’s a whole new scout for Notre Dame,” he continued.  “They’re better than Alemany, so we have to be able to box out guys, keep guys in front, and remember the shooters. Notre Dame wants to shoot threes, the whole team shoots threes.  We have to be able to close out shooters. Long shots mean long rebounds.”

Cub of the Game

Despite the loss, the Cub of the Game is Jack Kresich, who led the team in scoring with 15 points.

The Next Game

The Cubs play at home against the Notre Dame Knights on December 10 at 7:00 pm.