On Feb. 7, Aragon’s boys basketball team (9-13 overall, 5-5 Peninsula South League)* faced Mills (5-17 overall, 2-8 PSL)*. Aided by a second half surge, the Dons won 47-33.
The fourth quarter was a rush to score as both teams had a win in their sights. Scoring 11 out of the Dons’ last 21 points, junior forward and center Murphy Caffo led the Dons in the last moments of the game. Aragon was also efficient from the three point line, as senior guard and forward Ryan Victor and junior guard Blaine Reynolds each knocked down a three pointer.
The Dons’ defense struggled in the first quarter as Mills’ offense attacked both in the key and from the three point arc. The Vikings forced turnovers with their 2-3 zone defense. Mills capitalized on Aragon’s turnovers and scored six out of their 11 points off of layups, one three pointer and two free throws.
Early in the game, Mills was able to break through the unorganized defense and grab two points. Later, the Dons responded when junior guard Jace Jeremiah forced a turnover from Mills junior guard Marcus Maravillas and scored off of a layup.
As the second quarter started, Aragon’s positioning was much more organized and as a result, they were able to end the half up 19-18.
Between halves, the Aragon players reflected on their performance in the first half.
“I basically went in and told [them] how many turnovers they had against the zone and left them in there by themselves to figure it out,” said head coach Hosea Patton.
The third quarter was slow for both teams. Their defensive positioning only allowed seven points each for both teams.
Mills’ zone defense was able to lock out Aragon’s offense and prevent them from getting into the key to score vital points.
“[Mills] is not hard to play against,” Patton said. “It’s just a team playing zone; it takes away our aggressiveness. So we had to get aggressive and do some things on defense in order to get some easier baskets.”
The Dons’ slow start was partially because of the players’ mindset going against the ninth place Vikings.
“They maybe play down and then decided they want to play a game, which is not how we teach them how to play. So just really some careless stuff the first half,” Patton said. “They’re kind of getting in their own minds and so they start thinking about things instead of having the next play mentality.”
Thinking ahead, Aragon is working toward improving their aggressiveness on the court and taking advantage of free throws.
“I know I need to work on free throws,” Caffo said. “As a team, I think we need to be more aggressive.”
Aragon’s last game of the season is against Hillsdale (16-6 overall, 8-2 PSL)* on Feb. 14.
*records as of Feb. 10
