Men's Basketball Edged Out by West Hills Lemoore, 91-99

The Seahawks kick off their season at Home with a contest against West Hills Lemoore. The Seahawks started with a fiery offensive setup and a 3-point dagger from Blake Ballard ( So. #3). West Hills answered immediately but was followed by another shot from behind the arc from Ballard. West Hills Trey Booker-Lowry reached the free throw line after a missed dunk attempt to bring the Golden Eagles to 10 total points. 5 Minutes into the game, the Seahwks offense comes up all Ballard with 3 3-Pointers and one from inside the are bringing his total (and the team total to 11. The score is 11-12 with 13 minutes left in the first half.

 

The Seahawks defense forces the eagles to make contested long ranges shots. Seahawks Marques Calcote (Fr., #1) leads the team on offense and defense with great hustle and command of the court. The seahawks have multiple paint scoring opportunities from Amir Woodmore (So. #5) and Raymond Sims (Fr. #32). 

 

The Seahawks look steady on offense, getting many opportunities for mid-range and long-range shots. With the score Seahawks 20 Golden Eagles 19, after 10 minutes, defense continues to be a highlight for both teams. Booker-Lowry gave a post move that moved the Golden-Eagles up 1. Ballard had a steal on the next posession that the Seahawks were able to gather but came up short on a post move from Max Majcher (Fr. #31).  Majcher makes up for the play immediately with a put-back layup to put the Seahawks up 22-21 with 7:37 left in the fir half. It is hard to ignore the hustle from Elia Mageo (So. #10) with multiple first half boards. 

 

Ballard makes a clutch off balance floater that brought the score to 25-27 after a short Golden Eagles run. Seahawks defense lineup in a full-court press situation but the Golden Eagles find their way to multiple shots inside the paint. The Seahawks go on a great offensive run behind Balland and Sims, advancing to 38-31 with 3 minutes left in the half. Ballard has been steady from behind the free throw line giving the Seahawks more space in their lead. West Hills James Nichols (Fr. #23) gave the Golden Eagles an and-1 opportunity to bring the team within 4. The Golden Eagles have seen most of their success from pushing the pace of the Seahawks defense.

 

Christian Martinez (Fr. #22) interrupts the Golden Eagles speed with a make behind the arc. With less than a minute left in the half, Nichols finds another and-1 opportunity to even the score at 40. Majcher finds the bottom of the net shortly after to be be stalled by a controversial 3 -point foul by the Seahawks that put the Golden Eagles up 1 with 20 seconds left in the half. Ijezie Anopuene (fr. 15) found his way to the stripe immediately after bringing the Seahawks up 1. West Hills Kesean Bazile (So., #2) found the bottom of the net after an inbound opportunity which put the Golden Eagles up 45-44 at half.

 

Ballard kicks off the first half with a score inside the paint off of an inbound play. Calcote proves to be an elite defensive presence coming up with multiple possessions off of steals and hustle plays. The Golden Eagles' Ryan Chavez (So. #10) drains an open 3-pointer to even the score at 48. Yel Deng (Fr. #20) entered the game to give the Seahawks an extra-large presence in the paint. Deng quickly finds himself on the board with a putback layup. 

 

5 minutes into the second half the Seahawks find themselves down 5 after some smart play from Golden Eagles. Martinez opens up multiple opportunities for the Seahawks with steady dribbling and extra efforts on the offensive boards. Sims physicality finds himself in another free throw opportunity where he drains both to put the Seahawks within 3. The Seahawks transition to a full court press which leads to a five second violation from the Golden Eagles. The large crowd in attendance is making for a lively Seahawks gym. 

 

Seahawks post 7 fouls within the first eight minutes of the second half giving the golden eagles multiple free-throw opportunities. Baller showcases athleticism multiple times throughout the first part of the second half transitioning the ball to pay opportunities. Sims finds his way to the free throw line again making one of the two to bring the Seahawks within five.

 

Calcote transitions to ball, the full length of the court between golden eagle defenders and find his way to the hoop. Cameron Newton (Fr. #24) capitalizes on the open look from the wing to tie the Seahawks and golden eagles up at 58. Newton quickly follows up again behind the three-point line after a few made baskets by the Golden Eagles. Calcote seems unbothered by the Golden Eagles full Court press as he's able to advance the ball easily to set up a Seahawks offense. Newton has been a firecracker off the bench for the Seahawks with a lay-in in the paint. 

 

Oashan Ero (Fr. #0) gives the Seahawks a lead after being found behind the arc and draining all three attempts. Valerie quickly follows that up with a clutch drive to the basket and another that leads to him being on the free-throw line. Ballard finds the bottom of the net on both to put the Seahawks up 72 to 71 with six minutes left to play in the second half.

 

The Golden Eagles have an alley-oop followed by an inbound steal that led to a seven-point swing. The Seahawks quickly answer with a three of their own. The golden eagles, follow with multiple points inside of the paint to extend their lead to 87-77. Both teams trade opportunities late in the 2nd half. Calcote hits a clutch three to bring the deficit to eight. Seahawks implement the full court press that leads to a steal and a quickly goaltended basket from Newton. They do it again with a basket for Martinez. The golden eagles immediately answer to bring the lead back up to five. 54 seconds remaining in a tough battle between the Golden Eagles and the Seahawks. The golden eagles, throw the ball away on the inbound, and the Seahawks see an opportunity on their side of the court which is lost on the loose pass that led to a Golden Eagles slam. Calcote find his way to the line with 20 seconds left in the game as the Seahawks are down nine. He makes one of the two but was not enough as time expires, and the Seahawks fall to the Golden Eagles, 99 to 91.

 

The Seahawks showcased excellent play and discipline in their attempts. Ballard finished with 35 Points and 6 Rebounds on the night. The Seahawks will look to get their first win of the season at Golden West College on Tuesday November 7th at 4 PM.