Arroyo Grande holds on to beat Mission Prep in early league basketball matchup
Arroyo Grande edged Mission Prep met in both schools’ second game of Mountain League play on Friday at Cowitz Gymnasium in San Luis Obispo.
The Eagles (15-5, 2-0 Mountain) came out on top 50-44 and continued their strong start to the season, while the Royals (3-13, 0-2 Mountain) saw their losing skid extend to 10 games.
The Royals played a tough offseason schedule, including a tournament in Arizona where they played some of the top teams in the state. However, the team has gone on to drop its two initial league games, first against St. Joseph and now Arroyo Grande.
On the other hand, the Eagles have won nine straight with a senior-heavy team led by guards Nicholas Simmons and Zach Soriano.
Arroyo Grande dominates first half
Arroyo Grande got off to a fast start in the first half with quick ball movement that led to three straight three-pointers. At one point in the second quarter, the Eagles held a 22-9 lead.
Meanwhile, the Eagles’ defense hounded Royals standout senior forward Luke Jacobson and kept him from receiving passes. The Royals’ offense sputtered as a result.
Despite being an undersized team compared to years past in Arroyo Grande, the Eagles’ identity still resides on the defensive end, Head Coach Ryan Glanville said.
“It’s all on defense,” Glanville said. “Even though this is one of the similar teams we’ve had, we still try and work really hard defensively and rebound the ball. On the offensive end, we have some guys who can shoot.”
One of those players is guard George Keskinov.
The 5-foot-11 senior made six threes, including two in the final minutes of the game.
Mission Prep mounts a comeback in second half
At halftime, the Eagles led 31-21, but in the second half, the Royals implemented a switching defensive scheme that bothered Arroyo Grande and prevented them from driving to the basket. That helped Mission Prep cut the lead down to a single possession in the final minutes of the game.
But Keskinov then hit two crucial threes to keep the Eagles ahead.
Holding a 44-41 lead with under a minute to go, an Eagles drive to the basket opened up a skip pass to Keskinov for a three-point shot.
Junior guard for the Royals Jayden Nozil then immediately brought the ball back up the floor, answering with a pull-up three of his own with a defender draped over him.
However, the Eagles remained composed.
Another drive opened up a pass to Keskinov, who extended the Eagles lead to six on another three-pointer, which sealed the game.
Despite the loss, Royals Head Coach Terrence Harris was encouraged by the second-half performance.
“We competed on the defensive end,” Harris said. “We made some adjustments on the offensive side at halftime that ended up working in our favor. I don’t know the last time we won a second half, but we did today.”
Nozil acknowledged losing this much can be discouraging, but he added that the team is “staying strong.”
“We’ve been playing good competition,” Nozil said. “We played one of the top three teams in Arizona, so we’re all keeping a positive mindset about everything.”
He ended the game with 19 points, 17 of which came in the second half. He used his size and athleticism to get into the paint and finish through defenders all throughout the second half.
Junior guard Ethan Orozco added 11 points for the Royals.
For Arroyo Grande, Soriano and senior guard Aiden Blan scored nine points apiece.
The Royals will look to snap their losing streak on Tuesday on the road against San Luis Obispo. The Eagles take on Santa Ynez at home on Tuesday.