Cory Moore fights past a defender in Tuesday’s game. (Photo by Reece Kimes)
The Santa Rosa Academy boys basketball team lost a league matchup against Desert Christian Academy 57-50 on Tuesday night.
The Rangers came into this game off a loss to Temecula Prep and were looking to right the ship with a win. They started off the game slow, though, with a few missed shots as Desert Christian opened up the scoring on a 6-0 run. Despite the slow start offensively, the Rangers played great defense, keeping the score 6-0 until their shots started to hit.
Back-to-back 3-pointers by Mycah Mason leveled the score at 6-6 midway through the first quarter. The Conquerors responded to the 6-0 Rangers run with a 7-2 run of their own before Christian Gonzalez crossed up his defender and got to the rim, making it 13-10 at the end of the first quarter.
Mason was the leading scorer for Santa Rosa, finishing with 27 points, while Cory Moore was the other Ranger to finish in double figures with 12.
The problems for Santa Rosa continued at the start of the second quarter when they opened up with two turnovers, one being a shot clock violation, while Desert Christian hit two quick shots to extend the lead to 7. The Conquerors then entered a 2-3 zone, daring Santa Rosa to hit some 3-pointers, but they could not convert and had trouble doing so for the rest of the game.
Coach Tom Crunk commented on his team’s 3-point shooting woes after the game.
“Offensively, we just couldn’t get the ball to fall,” he said. “We went 4-for-27 from three, and when shots like that aren’t dropping, it can turn into a mental battle. I thought we competed, but you could feel that frustration start to creep in.”
Led by Mason, the Rangers did continue to fight. Any time Desert Christian looked to extend its lead to a large margin, he and the rest of the team would hit some timely shots to keep them right in the game. At half, the score stood at 24-18.
The second half spelled more of the same for the Rangers as they once again started off a bit slow but kept crawling their way back into the game. Santa Rosa eventually got the deficit down to 5 and with all of the momentum, but they still could not capitalize as their free throw shooting also started to become an issue in the comeback.
The Rangers finished 7-for-14 from the line, leaving crucial points off the board. In the fourth quarter, Santa Rosa again tried playing catch-up, matching every Desert Christian shot with their own. But the Rangers failed to complete the comeback, never cutting the deficit to less than 5.
Despite the loss, Crunk was optimistic about his team as the season winds down.
“We have two players who lead the league in made 3-pointers, so this isn’t a question of ability,” he said. “It’s about staying confident, trusting the work, and continuing to execute. We’re looking forward to finishing the season strong and positioning ourselves for a deep playoff run.”
Santa Rosa next plays on Thursday night at home in a league matchup against California Military Institute.
Mycah Mason works his way through traffic Tuesday night. (Photo by Reece Kimes)
Mycah Mason has an opponent up in the air on a shot attempt. (Photo by Reece Kimes)
Cory Moore has room to work around a defender. (Photo by Reece Kimes)
Elijah Brewer fires away on an outside shot. (Photo by Reece Kimes)
