Coast Union battles larger schools in Morro Bay basketball tournament

The Broncos varsity basketball team — fresh off the Dec. 3-5 Morro Bay High School Tournament in which it lost all four games — still has another tournament ahead before getting into the Coast Valley League play Dec. 15.

But given the way the seven student athletes on the team have played so far against substantially larger schools, these nonleague tournament games may serve, as they do each early season, to get head coach Tim May’s team battle-ready for another run at the CVL title.

Against Morro Bay on Dec. 3, the Broncos lost 51-35, but junior Jez Lawson, expected to be one of the leaders on the team, scored 13 points, and junior Sam MacKinnon — who along with twin brother Jack is expected to provide punch — contributed seven points.

Coast lost to Templeton, 51-31, on Dec. 4 and lost again to North Bakersfield, 54-44, on Dec. 5. In that loss to North, junior Auggie Johnson showed his skills by nailing five 3-pointers and scoring 21 points; he also picked up 20 points against El Capitan (Merced) in a 59-35 loss.

The Broncos next take on Thatcher in Ojai on Dec. 10. The next home game for Coast Union is against Shandon on Dec. 15.

This story was originally published December 10, 2015 at 4:09 PM with the headline "Coast Union battles larger schools in Morro Bay basketball tournament."