By BRIAN REED-BAIOTTO, Sports Editor The two best teams in the Pacific League (by far) met up for the second time this season. And for the first time in recent memory, the outright Pacific League championship was on the line. The best player in the area and probably the southern section, though, took over Thursday […]
By BRIAN REED-BAIOTTO, Sports Editor
The two best teams in the Pacific League (by far) met up for the second time this season.
And for the first time in recent memory, the outright Pacific League championship was on the line.
The best player in the area and probably the southern section, though, took over Thursday night’s showdown and made it look rather routine.
PHS superstar and future UNLV Runnin’ Rebel Bryce Hamilton made 15-of-17 shots from the floor and finished with a game-high 35 points. His only two misses of the night were from 3-point range.
Hamilton wasn’t done yet, though, as he grabbed a game-high 19 rebounds, had 4 blocks, 4 steals and 3 assists.
Pasadena blew out their feisty rivals from Muir, 78-51, and earned their 14th straight Pacific League championship after earning the season sweep of the Mustangs.
It was as simple as Pasadena having too many athletes.
As disappointed as the Mustangs’ coaches and players were after the loss, there is so much to look forward to next week and beyond.
Muir has a very good chance at making a run at a CIF-SS Division 2 championship when the playoffs begin in a few days.
Muir led 15-13 after the first quarter, but PHS went on a 46-23 run over the next 16 minutes and the game was never in doubt in the second half.
Darius Mason was huge for the Bulldogs.
The PHS junior had 21 points, 13 rebounds, 4 assists and a block that turned into an Omari Moore dunk at the other end of the floor.
Tasson Aubry led Muir with 13 points and 10 boards, and Hunter Woods finished with 11 points, 7 rebounds and 3 assists while being saddled with foul trouble throughout.
Despite being 8 inches shorter than many players he guards, Tiyon Martin battled his butt off and showed his courage till the end. Martin finished with 10 points and 5 assists.
Tavian Percy finished with 9 points, 4 rebounds and 2 assists for the Bulldogs.
Darius Brown II had a slow shooting night (2-of-8), but he did what great players do and found a way to make a difference.
DBII had a game-high 11 assists, 5 steals and 4 rebounds to go along with his 7 points.
Haleem Jenkins, who’s mother Alesha Duffy, flew in from New York to surprise and watch her son play, scored 8 points for Muir.
Simaine Stewart, son of the Muir head coach continues to battle through an ankle injury and finished with 7 points and 4 assists for the Mustangs.
PHS shot 56-percent from the field (31 of 47) and had 48 rebounds and 25 assists.
One of the great things about this rivalry isn’t just how hard these guys play and compete against one another, because all great rivalries do that.
But the mutual respect that both coaches and the players from top to bottom have for each other is remarkable and it says a lot about the way they were raised and how well each side represented their school.
PHS will wait until Sunday to see if they made the CIF-SS Open Division or Division 1 when the pairings are released, and Muir should be a top-4 seed in the CIF-SS Division 2 bracket.
Highlights and interviews with both coaches, as well as Muir’s Tiyon Martin, Hunter Woods and Tasson Aubry, and PHS’ Bryce Hamilton, Darius Mason and DBII are on the video above.
Good luck to both proud and respectful/respectable programs in the CIF-SS playoffs next week.
The pairings will be released on the Cifss.org site at 1 p.m. on Sunday afternoon.
Box Score:
PHS: 13-20-26-19-(78)
MHS: 15-12-11-13-(51)
Thursday’s Pacific League Scores:
Pasadena 78, Muir 51
Crescenta Valley 60, Arcadia 57
Burbank 59, Burroughs 51
Glendale 64, Hoover 40
Pacific League Final Standings:
Pasadena (20-6, 13-1)
Muir (20-7, 12-2)
Crescenta Valley (15-12, 8-6)
Burbank (17-10, 7-7)
Glendale (18-9, 6-8)
Arcadia (10-12, 6-8)
Burroughs (13-14, 3-11)
Hoover (5-22, 1-13)
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