In the OAL regular season finale between the McClymonds Warriors and Castlemont Knights, the game had no bearing in the seeding for the upcoming OAL playoffs. However, the rivalry between the two schools still fueled a spirited battle to the final minutes of the game. In front of his home crowd, senior Knight Deverauex Manley concluded his last regular season game by leading all scorers with 26 points for the Castlemont 65-61 victory.
In the first quarter, the Warriors came out attacking on both ends of the court. Their pressing defense caused several Castlemont turnovers as McClymonds held a 12-2 lead, which was the largest Warrior lead of the game. Castlemont scored the last 6 points of the quarter to cut the deficit to 12-8.
In the second quarter, Castlemont was still committing several turnovers due to the Warrior defense. However, McClymonds had poor free throw shooting that allowed Castlemont to tie the game at 18-18 with 3:05 left. The Knights would take a 24-21 lead into halftime.
The third quarter was a back and forth struggle between the two teams. Warrior big man Jamaree Strickland was critical in getting several offensive rebounds and put back attempts. However, Castlemont was still able to extend the lead to 37-32.
McClymonds scored the first 5 points of the fourth quarter to tie the game at 37-37. In addition, the Warriors were shooting the penalty early in the quarter. Junior Dulani Robinson hit a 3-point shot to tie the game as he made five 3-point shots in the game. The Warriors would not lead in the quarter as they would also be tied at 39-39. With the Warriors trailing 47-46, Castlemont ran off 9 straight points to lead 56-46 with less than three minutes left in the quarter to hold what seemed to be an insurmountable lead. The Warriors cut the lead to 59-56 and had free throw attempts with 30 seconds left but missed both attempts as Castlemont held on for the 65-61 win.
How this game was won: Castlemont Coach Hodari Mcgavock said it was a team effort. He highlighted the efforts of Manley and Gary Williams as they scored 26 and 21 points respectively. But Mcgavock said senior Bobby Johnson played the game of his life. Johnson only scored 7 points but was literally huge for the Knights. He had to be the interior physical presence to counter the height and size advantage that the Warriors had.
Turning point: When Castlemont was leading 47-46 in the fourth quarter, the Knights scored 9 straight points to lead 56-46. Manley hit two consecutive 3-point shots with the latter being a 4-point play as he was fouled. Give McClymonds credit for still battling as they could have let the momentum overwhelm them.
McClymonds analysis: The McClymonds bus was stuck in traffic which caused the game to be delayed by 30 minutes. Apparently, the team free throw shooting was adversely affected by that delay as they made 14 out of 28 free throw attempts. Post player Strickland is still feeling his way through his recovered knee injury as he scored 7 points. Coach Brandon Brooks plans to be careful with Strickland. Robinson led the Warriors with 17 points as he made five 3-point shots and was shifty in breaking down the defense.
Castlemont analysis: Coach Mcgavock felt that his team has underachieved the entire year. He hopes that his team is peaking or reaching more of its potential. The Knights have solid guard play with Manley and Williams while the interior is patrolled by Johnson.
What is next for McClymonds: Coach Brooks did not want to go into OAL playoffs with a two game losing streak. The Warriors had the top seed locked up before the game already and a first round bye. He will have his team work on their free throw shooting, strengthen their defensive rotation, and work on fundamentals. After starting the season so poorly, McClymonds finished the regular season at 15-13 and are one win away from reaching the NorCal playoffs. All the injured players are back and the Warriors can be a matchup problem for most teams.
What is next for Castlemont: Castlemont finished the regular season at 15-8 and will have a first round game. They avenge the first meeting against McClymonds. A third meeting between the two teams would not be surprising.
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