THE REPORTER
The University boys overcame a sluggish start to overwhelm Scecina in the first quarter on the way to a dominating 73-39 win over the Crusaders.
Neither team could dent the scoreboard until Robert Russell put the Trailblazers up 2-0 with 5:17 left in the opening quarter. Kahmi Bracey followed with a steal and layin before Bracey found Seth Hogg for a three pointer. Those baskets started a 20-4 run over four minutes to put University in control of the game.
Andre Ozlowski followed with a pair of free throws before converting a traditional three-point play off an assist from Bryce Gray. Sabien Cain hit the first of his six three-pointers on the night and Steven Scott added another traditional three-point play to make it 18-4. Cain followed with a steal and dunk before closing the first quarter with another three-pointer with three seconds left. University led 23-10 after the first quarter.
The Trailblazers turned up the defensive intensity in the second quarter, holding Scecina to just two free throws with 2:13 left in the quarter. Cain had eight points in the second quarter and University led 41-12 at halftime. University extended the lead to 54-22 after three quarter behind eight more points from Cain, who had a game-high 24 points.
Coach Brandon Lafferman substituted liberally throughout the second half. Bryce Gray had seven points in the fourth quarter and Eli Facey added six. University shot 61 percent from the field in the game.
Lafferman was excited with his team’s performance. “We talked all week about to defend Scecina. We hadn’t played against that much size yet and I thought our guys from the beginning did a really great job of bottling them up and working together on the defensive end. Sabien really got us going offensively making threes early. The chemistry on the offensive end of the floor was fantastic.”
“It is our first doubleheader weekend and we go in to a big conference game tomorrow night. I’m happy with this road win and hopefully we can take of business tomorrow,” concluded Lafferman.
University is 3-0 and opens Pioneer Academic Athletic Conference North Division play tomorrow night at The U Center against Liberty Christian.
UNIVERSITY 73, SCECINA 39
University FG FT TP PF
Kahmi Bracey 2 2-2 6 3
Robert Russell 4 0-0 9 1
Sabien Cain 9 0-0 24 1
Andre Ozlowski 2 5-5 9 0
Seth Hogg 1 0-0 3 2
Bryce Gray 3 1-1 7 0
Zien Bland 1 0-0 2 2
Steven Scott 2 1-1 5 2
Jackson Bledsoe 1 0-0 2 1
David Walls 0 0-0 0 0
Montgomery Holland 0 0-0 0 0
Eli Facey 1 3-3 6 3
Totals 26 12-12 73 15
Score by Quarters
University 23 18 13 19 – 73
Scecina 10 2 13 14 – 39
University 3-pointers (9) Cain 6, Russell 1, Facey 1, Hogg 1.