Another day, another impressive victory for the Geffen Academy Bruins. Facing off against their divisional opponents in the Vistamar Vikings on Wednesday evening, the Bruins were dealing with even more injuries. In addition to Jordy Ohebsion's finger injury, both Noah Saucedo (personal reasons) and Ethan Hong (illness) were ruled out for yesterday's contest. Caught in a pinch, coaches Devon McNairy and Marshann Gordon elected to insert sophomore Rosstin Markzar into the starting lineup alongside Nathan Muhumuza, Stevan Markovic, Connor Branch, and Mason Sugimoto.
Keyed by Muhumuza, the Bruins got out to a hot start. The senior guard scored thirteen of the first eighteen points for Geffen Academy, and kept it a close affair throughout the first quarter. As they always do, the Bruins struggled mightily to protect the glass and to box out their opponents. Vistamar shot horribly from the field all night long, and it was their second-chance points that even kept them in the game. For the Bruins, Stevan Markovic once again put on his usual smorgasbord of triples. His play, along with a nice contribution off the bench from Siddarth Modgil, lifted the Bruins to a twelve-point halftime lead.
But Vistamar didn't fade into the dust. Despite Markovic continuing his hot shooting from the field and Geffen Academy turning the basketball over a mere seven times, the offensive rebounding/loose ball disparities were so large that the Vikings managed to keep themselves within striking distance, still down a dozen to begin the fourth.
Before the quarter begin, Coach McNairy told his team they needed to win by more than twelve, and to preferably increase the lead to twenty. Three minutes into the final period, the lead was four. Numerous Bruins turnovers and missed shots gave the Vikings a few easy layups and an open three-pointer, and at one point, McNairy hurled his water bottle over the Geffen Academy bench towards the exit. The Bruins, surprisingly, responded well. Markovic made two more threes, and Sugimoto made a reverse layup. It was one of only two field goals the Bruins scored all evening that weren't from Muhumuza or Markovic. (The other was Modgil's putback layup in the second quarter). Vistamar began to rush their offense and miss shots, and couldn't quite complete what would have been a miraculous, late-game comeback. The Bruins won, 61-53.
For Geffen Academy, it marked their sixth win in a row, including four road wins. Markovic and Muhumuza, who scored 29 and 26 points, respectively, are the biggest reason why. Geffen Academy won't play again until after the calendar turns, against their nemesis in Rolling Hills Prep, a game in which they'll most certainly be large underdogs. But for now: a well-deserved rest.
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