Coast Union alumni lose ‘fun’ exhibition to varsity
“The game was fun, and I’m grateful for the fan support,” said Coast Union varsity basketball coach Tim May, a CUHS graduate, who played for the alumni team that took on the Bronco varsity Friday night, Dec. 16.
Since it was intended as an entertaining exhibition event, the score wasn’t as important as witnessing former players challenging today’s players. “The varsity ended up pulling out a victory … I don’t know the score, but I know the varsity won by seven,” May said, adding that it was the “best attended alumni game in many years.”
This week, the Broncos have been practicing daily in preparation for the Santa Barbara Holiday Classic, set for Dec. 27-30. The next home game for the Broncos is slated for Jan. 6 against Laton High School, an 8 p.m. game.
Junior varsity
The Bronco junior varsity basketball team won two of its three games in the Coast Union Holiday Invitational Tournament last week. The two wins came in the Coast Union gym, and the defeat came in the Santa Lucia Middle School gym, which needed to be used due to heavy rains that caused a leaky roof in the Coast Union gym Thursday.
On Thursday, Dec. 15, Coast took on the Mission Prep JV team, and the Broncos were outplayed by a taller, deeper team. The Royals’ 14 players (Coast had seven) “dominated every aspect of the game when the first unit was in,” coach Michael McAvoy said. When Mission’s second string came in, the Broncos “matched up a little better.”
Still, the score at halftime was 36-13 Royals, and the final was 63-27 in favor of Mission Prep.
“We played pretty scared and flat-footed in the first quarter … and we continue to turn the ball over and our communication on the court is poor,” the coach pointed out in an email interview.
Coast’s scoring leaders were was David Amodei, Nate Markham and David Nolan; each tossed in 9 points.
Things went far better for the Bronco JV squad on Friday, Dec. 16, against the San Luis Obispo Classical Academy’s Grizzlies, as Coast prevailed 34-23. Nolan led the way with 12 points, seven rebounds and a pair of blocked shots. Amodei had 9 points and four rebounds; David May had three rebounds to go with 5 points.
On Saturday, Dec. 17, the JV team defeated the Valley Christian Academy Lions 36-32 in an exciting game. The Broncos failed to score a single point in the third quarter, but they hung on thanks to Nolan’s eight rebounds, and Amodei’s 17 points and four rebounds.
May poured in 8 points (including a pair of three-pointers) and Markham, “who played well on both sides of the court,” had 7 points and four rebounds, according to McAvoy.
Explaining how the Broncos could go a full quarter without scoring, the coach said it came down to “silly fouls and rushed shots … lack of communication and turnovers.”
This story was originally published December 21, 2016 at 9:18 AM with the headline "Coast Union alumni lose ‘fun’ exhibition to varsity."