Big 5th grade win clinches playoff spot, Red Team self destructs

The 8th Grade Red Team has experienced the high of the highs and now, the low of the lows.

Up against a team that had previously won only one game, the Red Team went into this game with the attitude that they automatically would win this game as well.

That didn't happen.

Turnovers, missed lay-ups and not having Miles for the last quarter and a half, brought the 8th graders back to life in a 39-32 loss tonight.

Miles had only two fouls at halftime, but committed three fouls in the third, and fouled out on an offensive foul.

Without their big man in the middle, the Red Team was hammered on the boards. Nobody wanted to play physical, and they played scared. In the end, a winnable game turned into their second loss of the season.

If you were searching for bright spots, there weren't too many. Everybody on the team had several turnovers and it was missed lay-up after missed lay-up.

The other team capitalized on the Red Team's inefficiencies and used it to their advantage. They had countless fast breaks and lay-ups, and converted on them -- the same can't be said for the 8th grade.

After a game like this, the best thing to do is to play the next game. They won't have much time to think about it as they hit the court again tomorrow at 12 p.m. for their back end of a back-to-back.

Head coach James Chiu, furious with his team's play, made the team run sprints during halftime.

Even that message wasn't enough.

5th grade romps, clinch first playoff berth

It was tied at 4-4 with 6 seconds left in the first half.

But then, Joseph grabbed a rebound, went coast to coast for an and-one lay-up to make it 6-4.

It was halftime and that's when the floodgates opened.

In a display of good defense and great offense, every single player on the 5th grade scored and they compiled their highest point total in three years and won 29-10. Their biggest margin of victory also clinched them their first ever playoff spot.

The man of the hour right now is Ryan, who scored his first points ever in a CYO game. Instead of settling for just 2 points, he scored 4 points.

Good rebounding and defense gave the 5th graders a much needed spark after a pretty slow first half. Raymond was a catalyst for a lot of the fast breaks as he was able to get steals and get off on the fast break. He had an and-one early in the third, and from that point on, the 5th grade did not look back.

This was text book on how to win a game as the 5th graders pretty much made all their lay-ups. Grant, Jason Zhao and Willard all broke ahead of the pack and made their lay-ups like it was warm-ups.

Overall, a great team effort, and a fantastic bounce back game for the 5th grade as their record now improves to (6-1).

Grant had a game high 6 points.



6th Grade Wins Big by 6th Grade Beat Writer, Emily

When a team plays like a team, they win. And that is exactly what the 6^th grade boys did tonight.

Brandon Khuu started the game off with a bang, scoring his first points in a few games.  It was 10-2 after the first quarter, and the 6^th grade never looked back.

They put the game away in the fourth quarter, outscoring the opponent 10-4 and won 30-13.

In the last game, free throws were why they lost. Tonight, the 6^th grade boys shot 6-for-8 from the line, which was a significant improvement.

The boys played with a sense of urgency, something that they have been lacking and it translated into a victory. They were aggressive and went after the ball, boxed out their man, and grabbed rebounds which led to fast break points.

They now sit at (3-4), with one more game to play in the regular season.