Warriors take second in North County Classic

The Fallbrook varsity basketball team came close to capturing another tournament championship when they hosted the North County Classic Tournament during the third week of December. The Warriors entered the North County Classic with a 4-0 record and as the Morro Bay Harding Invitational Tournament champions. Fallbrook extended the winning streak to eight games before falling to the La Costa Canyon Mavericks (LCC), 48-71, in the finals on December 18.

In the first game of the North County Classic, the Warriors played a thrilling game against Fallbrook head coach Jeff Brandow’s alma mater, the Carlsbad Lancers. Fallbrook was tested until the final seconds as Warrior Spencer Merchat hit a game-winning three pointer with seven seconds remaining in overtime to give his team a 61-58 victory.

The second game was also a close victory as the Warriors squeaked by with a 60-58 win over the Murrieta Mesa Rams. In the following contest, Fallbrook took on the San Jacinto Tigers and won 58-47.

In the semifinal match, the Warriors were paired against the San Marcos Knights. After being tied at halftime, Fallbrook triumphed with a superb second half effort to win 74-66. In the game, Warrior Danny Bashara put up 29 points to help his team earn a ticket to the championship match against LCC.

In the first quarter of the finals, Fallbrook opened with a 16-5 run forcing LCC to call a timeout. The Warriors simply looked like a championship team with the ability to defend and create scoring opportunities against a powerhouse team. After the first quarter, Fallbrook led 20-14 with Bashara responsible

for 11 points.

The second quarter began with a technical foul called against coach Brandow. A miscommunication between the referee and the coach on the opening inbound play led to a turnover for the Warriors and a three pointer for the Mavericks. The entire sequence gave LCC a 21-20 lead to start the quarter. The Mavericks then began to pick apart the Warrior defense and forced costly turnovers, outscoring Fallbrook 24-12 in the quarter. At halftime LCC led 38-32.

Fallbrook trailed for the remainder of the game, as they were only able to score 16 points in the second half. The Mavericks cruised with four players scoring in double figures. The second half was highlighted by a fast break alley-oop dunk by the highly touted junior Matt Shrigley. LCC were crowned the North County Classic champions following their 71-48 victory.

Although the Warriors came short of winning another tournament and keeping their remarkable winning streak alive, they have much to be proud of at this point in the season. Point guard Seth Jorde and Bashara both made the all-tournament team for the second time this season. Bashara averaged 25 points per game during the tournament and is averaging just shy of 25 points per contest this season.

“First of all, the biggest thing is that I’m proud of is our effort during the whole tournament. Playing La Costa, our motto tonight was that we needed a career ‘best effort.’ What we can take from this is that A, we can take the confidence that we can play with anybody, and B, we can take that we know we can get better,” said Brandow.

The Warriors will have a week to prepare for the Holiday Classic featuring 79 teams at five different venues in San Diego County.

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