Eagles break loose, beat Knights 49-24
The Christian Learning boys varsity basketball team broke open what had been a fairly tight ball game with a 21-point fourth quarter as they defeated Cambridge 49-24 on their home court Monday afternoon.
The first half was marked by ferocious defense and stone cold shooting by both teams. After four minutes there was no score, and with 2:10 to go Cambridge held a 3-2 lead, with all three of its points coming on free throws. Eagle baskets by Andrew Burgin and Paul Estes gave Christian Learning the lead at the end of the quarter, 6-3.
The second quarter continued with more of the same as the action went back and forth with few points scored. There were ties at 8-8 and 9-9. The half ended with Christian Learning holding a razor-thin 13-12 lead.
The defensive highlight for Christian Learning came when Eagle Danny Canaviri stripped the ball from Knight Jose Luis Rivera as Ribera drove for a lay-up. The play ended with Rivera in a heap on the floor, and Canaviri streaking the other way with the ball.
Rivera, though, hit three free throws and a field goal in the half, making him the high scorer in the game at that point. Senior forward Alvaro Lopez drove twice through the Eagle defense for scores on lay-ups.
All told, the two boys teams had managed to score only one more point in the half than the two schools' girls teams had managed collectively in the first half of their game. Cambridge had particular trouble converting its opportunities from the foul line, and at one point had missed twelve foul shots in a row.
Many players started the second half with multiple fouls, but the major casualty of the first half infractions was Cambridge's Fabricio Subirana, who had fouled out of the game. Subirana, Cambridge's major rebounder and a defensive stalwart spent the second half on the bench, and was sorely missed.
Christian Learning scored six unanswered points to start the second half, but Cambridge steadied and kept the game within reach for most of the third quarter and into the fourth.
A caromed three-pointer by Cambridge eighth grader Andres Hurtado early in the fourth quarter cut the Christian Learning lead to an even ten points at 32-22, and a swished pull-up jumper by Rivera a few minutes later kept the deficit at that level, 34-24, but that was the last time the game would be that close.
(Hurtado's three-pointer was truly heroic. It turned out he had done it with a broken arm suffered when he had been knocked to the floor earlier by Eagle Josh Hoover. The break was not discovered until the next day when an X-ray was taken after Hurtado complained of continued pain.)
The Christian Learning offense now seemed to explode, and Cambridge looked increasingly worn down by the Eagles' offensive and defensive pressure. Subirana´s absence meant the Eagles would often get five and six shots off on each trip down the floor.
And the Eagles by this point were smelling blood. Multiple baskets were scored by the Eagles trio of seniors -- Canaviri, Tim Zimmerman, and Paul Estes. Junior Caleb Hoover came off the bench to score two baskets.
Canaviri at one point took the ball from one end to the other to score. On another attempt Canaviri was blocked adroitly by Rivera, paying back the first half favor. But such was the momentum and pace at this point that the ball was picked up by Zimmerman, perhaps the shortest man in the Eagle line-up, who put it in the hoop unopposed for an easy two points.
In short order the score was 40-24, after which the Eagles added nine more points in the closing minutes to make the final score 49-24.
The game was played in front of a large and enthusiastic home crowd, though with a significant Cambridge rooting section. The Eagles had started with the traditional "Oooga-oooga" chant, and then charged onto the floor led by their two new costumed mascots -- Woody the Woodpecker and Daffy Duck -- who danced around the gym leading cheers.
Zimmerman was the leading scorer for Christian Learning with 14 points. Canaviri had 12, Jesse Hallock 9, Caleb Hoover and Paul Estes 4, Dan Burgin 3, Andre Larsen 2, and Josh Hoover 1.
For Cambridge, Lopez ended up with 11, Rivera scored 9, Hurtado had three (on a three-pointer), and Subirana had one.
Keith Wilcke of Christian Learning contributed to this report.
