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| Patterson boys too much for Livingston to handle |
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| Written by Marc Aceves / Patterson Irrigator | |
| Wednesday, 16 January 2008 | |
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Patterson’s boys basketball players take pride in their team’s defense. It showed during the second half of Friday’s 69-47 win over the visiting Wolves of Livingston. Throw in a monster game from the Tigers’ Felix Mapanda, and it made for the perfect recipe for a remarkable first-place 4-0 start in Western Athletic Conference play. After a disappointing first two quarters for Patterson, the Tigers took it upon themselves to pinpoint the flaws that allowed a 5-10 Livingston team to remain so close on their heels. Leading by only three going into the break helped to put things into perspective for coach Tony Lomeli Jr.’s squad. “Livingston had 29 points at halftime, the most that we’ve given up at the half all year,” Lomeli said. “The team was mad at themselves, and I really didn’t have to motivate them to want to play better defense in the second half.” The first step to curbing the Wolves’ offensive attack was to find a way to shut down their two big men, centers Ariel Hernandez and Johal Harnarinder. Both Hernandez and Harnarinder had their way with Patterson’s defense early on, positioning themselves in the paint for easy layups and rebound put-backs. The Tigers had to find a way to keep the ball out of the Wolves’ hands to slow down the inside play of Livingston’s two biggest threats. The Tigers began the third quarter with a full-court press of Livingston’s guards and did not allow the Wolves the opportunity to set up their offense. As a result, Livingston had a hard time getting the ball over the half-court line. The pressure allowed the shot clock to waste away on nearly every Wolves possession, forcing the team to settle for sloppy turnovers and low-percentage jumpers. “We were able to come back out and shut down probably two of the best post players in the whole league,” Lomeli said. The third quarter also saw the rise of Patterson’s junior forward, Mapanda, who dominated at both ends of the court. He was everywhere, knocking down tough jumpshots, pulling down rebounds and diving for loose balls. After getting fouled on a rebound put-back attempt, Mapanda went to the free-throw line to shoot two. He calmly dropped the first shot in, but missed the second. The ball ricocheted off of players’ hands and right back to Mapanda, who snatched the rebound out of the air and went straight up for two more points. The bucket gave his team a 43-37 lead and jumpstarted an aggressive turnaround that kept Patterson on top for good. Mapanda scored 15 of his game-high 25 points in the second half, also tacking on 18 rebounds and three blocked shots. Coach Lomeli spoke of Mapanda’s huge night. “I’ve been waiting for this,” Lomeli said. “He’s showed glimpses of this, but tonight he really put together a huge game.” Mapanda was humble in his interpretation of his performance, noting that it was a team effort that got the job done. “My teammates got me the ball at the right places at the right time,” he said. “The openings were just there tonight.” The Tigers did not necessarily weld a lid over the Livingston hoop in fourth quarter, but they sure made it look that way. The Wolves struggled to find any semblance of an offensive threat and closed the game with only six fourth-quarter points. Patterson out-hustled the Wolves to nearly every loose ball and closed off the paint by intercepting poor passes to the inside. Every Livingston jumper from the outside was contested as well. Twenty-three of the Tigers astounding 45 rebounds were of the offensive variety, giving Patterson second-, third- and fourth-chance opportunities on almost every second-half possession. By contrast, Livingston was typically one shot and done, another credit to the Tigers’ persistence and tenacity. “We’re having fun and we’re working hard,” Lomeli said, “and if we can keep that work ethic where it is right now, we’re going to be fine.” To reach Marc Aceves at the Irrigator, call 892-6187 or e-mail him at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
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