By In rivalry games, you can throw out records. Many times the intensity of the rivals supersedes the wins and losses on each teams record. That wasn’t the case last night as the #3 ranked Mountain Pointe Pride dismantled #21 Corona Del Sol 78-48. It was Corona’s senior night, which made the victory that much sweeter for the Pride. “Our team has trouble getting motivated sometimes,” Coach Eason said. “I told them to take advantage of the emotion of senior night, and they did.” The victory raised the Pride’s record to 23-2, and extended their new winning streak to 3 games.
The defense took center stage, and the “55” press was the featured act; as it sped up, disrupted and turned over the Corona offense. In the middle of the second half, you could start to see Aztecs wearing down. “We don’t look for steals or to force turnovers, that’s what people who don’t press think a press does,” Coach Eason explains. “True pressing coaches know that you use your depth to wear down your opponent, at that point passes lose pop, decision making gets sketchy and legs get rubbery; that’s when you know they’re tired and we move in for the kill.”
It was a solid first half by MP, but Corona was right there with them, down just 1 point, 31-30 at the half. However, the fatigue Coach Eason talked about occurred in the second half, as the Aztecs could only find the basket for 18 points.
At the same time, the Pride had one of their better scoring nights, and second game in a row above 70 points. Senior guard Amarion Cash lead 4 double-digit scorers with 15 points. Juniors Jalen Graham and Khalid Price both had 12, and sophomore DeAndre Henry had a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds.
Tuesday night is the last regular season game for the Pride. It’s at home and it’s Senior night. Come out and celebrate the 4 year careers of John Norsworthy, Terrance Hunter, Selah Thomas, Ryan Pate and Amarion Cash. It’s also the last conference game for the Pride, and a win gives them the conference title. Tip off is at 7pm. See you there.
Mountain Pointe Basketball 