Nine years ago, in a game in Oakland one night in December between the Golden State Warriors and Sacramento Kings, Stephen Curry and Omri Casspi combined to hit nine three-pointers in the final three minutes of the first half. (This was the game that Curry tallied 17 points in three minutes). Tonight, in a game at De Toledo High School in November between Geffen Academy and Sherman Oaks, that game was recreated.
Junior Stevan Markovic of the Bruins and Junior Andre O'Daniel of the Knights put on what was an absolutely astounding performance. Time and time again, the two guards would exchange blows. O'Daniel nailed a contested three. Markovic converted a four-point play. O'Daniel drilled a corner three with two Bruins defenders literally draped on him. Markovic would hit a shot to beat the buzzer. In what's supposed to be a game between ten players and four lines, Markovic and O'Daniel stole all of the spotlight tonight.
For Geffen Academy, seeing the ball consistently go through the net was not something they experienced a whole lot of in their first two contests. Boy, did that change tonight. While Markovic provided a constant barrage of triples, scoring 32 points as well as grabbing nine hard-fought rebounds, it's not like he didn't have any help. Senior Noah Saucedo knocked down three timely treys. Sophomore Ethan Hong knocked down two threes and a long two-pointer in the first half. Junior Connor Branch was once again on double-double watch, with his 8 points and 7 boards.
Although Coach McNairy and Coach Gordon frantically adjusted their defense game plan to try to contain O'Daniel (who'd scored 26 of the 31 first-half points for Sherman Oaks), the Knights got enough contributions from their role players to hang on and finish the job. Geffen Academy actually had a chance to tie the game in the middle of the 4th quarter when sophomore June Jee missed a three, and Sherman Oaks converted a triple of their own on the other end. The massive six-point swing would spell disaster for the Bruins, and although McNairy had the Bruins repeatedly foul the Knights in an attempt to lengthen the game, it was all but over.
Still, the Bruins shouldn't have any trouble sleeping tonight. They fought hard from the opening tip until the final buzzer, and came eerily close to beating a team that in all honesty, without three of their top players, they had no business beating. Geffen Academy will look to salvage the tournament tomorrow, and secure a win heading into the Thanksgiving Holiday.
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