Varsity Warriors win Morro Bay tourney

FALLBROOK – Winning its first four games of the 2010 basketball season, the Fallbrook High School varsity boys' basketball team went undefeated to win the Ted Harding Invitational this past weekend. After finishing 3-1 last year, this was Fallbrook's second appearance at the tournament hosted by Morro Bay High School, which attracts high school teams from around California.

Fallbrook's outstanding shooting guard Danny Bashara received the tournament's Most Valuable Player (MVP) award, scoring 33 points in the championship game against Atascadero on Saturday evening.

Although the final score was 56-47, the Warriors were behind 23-24 at half-time. But Fallbrook would not be stopped, outscoring the Greyhounds 20-12 in the third quarter and kept the lead by shooting 74 percent from the free throw line.

"We got it back within three, but they always seemed to answer," said Atascadero head coach Jerry Tamelier.

The Hounds could not find a way to stop the senior Bashara throughout the game and Fallbrook's aggressive team defense kept Atascadero from finding any momentum.

Senior guard Spencer Merchat came off the bench to score 12 points and Junior Eli Walker (named to the All-Tournament Team) played a strong defensive game against the Hound's leading scorer who was held to eight points after averaging over 20 points in the prior three games. Senior forward Kyle Hoganson got into early foul trouble, requiring Junior Alex Askew to carry the load under the basket, who was the third leading scorer with seven points.

Throughout the tournament, starters Seth Jorde (also named to the All-Tournament team), Garrett Maclean, Bashara, Hoganson and Askew were too much for their opponents the first half in each game, allowing the entire team to get extra playing time. The Warriors averaged 69 points a game, while keeping their opponents to an average of just 41 points per game.

"We expected to compete for the championship. These young men have worked very hard to prepare for the season", said Fallbrook's head coach Jeff Brandow.

The Warriors traveled to Morro Bay on Thursday, December 2, opening strong against Santa Maria High School with a 75-38 win and on Friday, defeated Morro Bay High School 78-53. Moving into the playoff bracket, Fallbrook had no trouble with undefeated Tamalpais High School (from the San Francisco area), leading at halftime, 40-8 and winning 67-26.

"In the championship game versus an unbeaten/ranked Atascadero team (ranked #25 in Southern California by the Los Angeles Times), we came out a little nervous," added Brandow. "We relied on our defense, and calmed down at half. It was a great learning experience for our team, and also a confidence builder, but this is only the first step of the journey."

After a week's break from competition, the Warriors will host the North County Classic basketball tournament at Fallbrook High School December 13 through 18.