By Spencer Hammond
Staff writer
The Mira Costa boys basketball team finished its season in the quarterfinals of Division II AA California Interscholastic Federation Southern Section playoffs after a 67-59 loss to Lawndale High School on Feb. 27.
The seniors led the team and set the pace from start to finish. Lawndale utilized its players who were taller and quicker than the Costa players guarding them. Costa was able to prevent Lawndale from running away with the game by using a set system to limit Lawndale’s opportunities.
“We got some stops on defense that led to an open fast break for us, which allowed us to settle into our offense, but it wasn’t enough in the end,” junior guard Johnny Mims said.
In the round of 32, Costa played against Mark Keppel High School, seizing victory with a score of 68-52.
“We had to take more personal responsibility guarding our own man in that game,” senior forward Adam Griese said. “If we relied on a zone defense, they would have gotten a lot of open threes.”
After just barely meeting the margin to compete in the playoff tournament games, the Mustangs fought and prevailed, 61-50, after a comeback in the first round of CIF playoffs against Silverado High School. The teams were tied 29-29 at halftime, but Costa took over the second half in order to advance onto the next round.
“We had a lot of goals as a team when we started CIF, so we were not about to lose our first game and be knocked out so early,” senior guard Chris Lebbin said.
Costa finished with an overall record of 18-11 and a 4-6 record in Bay League. Despite the loss to Lawndale in their final game of CIF, the boys believe that they had a successful run.
“Even though I wish that we continued on in CIF, I’m still really proud of my team,” senior guard Dylan Kim said.
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