By William Hernandez
Although the Huskies had a rough start in the game, the basketball team rebounded with a win against Moorpark on Saturday night. The final score was 78-63 with the Huskies earning their third win of the season.
The Huskies went into the game with a 2-1 record and knew they had a tough match up against the Moorpark Raiders. The first half started with the Huskies playing sloppily on the defensive side of the ball.
The Huskies’ defense was not their only problem. The Huskies were out-rebounded by Moorpark who found themselves capitalizing on second chances. Moorpark scored three consecutive three pointers just on second chance opportunities.
On the offensive side of the ball, the Huskies played great with Captain Deon Geary leading the team with 15 first-half points. ELAC began to look like a oneman wrecking crew. On offense, Geary scored the majority of their first-half points until freshman point guard Albert Chavez came in and scored two consecutive three pointers.
The first half ended with the Huskies going into the locker room with a six-point lead, 37-31. The second half started off fast with Moorpark going on a 11-0 run in the first five minutes, tying the game at 42. In those first five minutes of the second half, the Huskies were getting outplayed as Moorpark played very physical throughout the entire game.
The Huskies did not play their best on offense but were bailed out with a couple fouls committed by the Raiders. ELAC took advantage of half of their trips to the free-throw line. After allowing those quick 11 points, the Huskies stepped their game up defensively. Moorpark looked like they were going to take the lead with 10 minutes left in the game.
Having the momentum both on the court and their home crowd, Moorpark kept pushing through. The Huskies stuck together and looked to Geary to stop any Moorpark momentum. Geary did not disappoint. Shooting one from the threepoint line.
Twenty seconds later, off a Raider turnover he knocked down an easy jump shot quickly quieting the crowd and giving the Huskies a six-point lead once again. The Huskies took control of the paint with 6-foot-10-inch center Mark Torres making his presence felt.
The Huskies did not give up any second chance opportunities as they did in the first half. Six minutes left in the game, frustration began to rise when Moorpark’s head coach received a technical foul for ranting at the referees over a disagreement. The Huskies took advantage of a technical foul taking an eight-point lead, 60-52.
ELAC capitalized off the careless turnovers made by Moorpark. Four minutes remaining, the Huskies buckled down on defense and climbed up to a ten-point lead, 66-56. Late in the game with less than three minutes left, Moorpark began to show a lot of fatigue and frustration.
Their frustration got the best of their emotions as they committed two hard fouls on Huskies Geary. Two minutes remained in the game, the Huskies lead climbed up to 12 and kept building the lead. By this point Moorpark showed visable frustration and seemed to physically be throwing in the towel. Head Coach Rob Rivera said it was a great win.
