Mission Prep boys basketball team falls to Jesuit 75-63

The Mission Prep boys basketball team lost 75-63 to Jesuit after pulling to within two in the final quarter at the Mission Prep Christmas Classic on Wednesday. The Royals (3-5) came out a step slow and trailed 33-24 at the half.

Mission Prep woke up in the third quarter when Senior Matthew Blaney started to heat up. Blaney scored 13 points in the third, hitting three 3-pointers.

The Royals looked to push the ball and kicked to a trailing Blaney, who finished with 18 for the game. Kyle Stewart tacked on nine points in the third to help the Royals close the gap. Stewart finished with 19 points.

Swarming team defense helped force Marauder (8-2) turnovers, mistakes that Jesuit wasn’t making in the first half.

The fourth quarter was a different story: Jesuit outscored Mission Prep 23-14, and the Royals struggled to find their rhythm. Sophomore Kyle Colvin scored 10 of his 13 points in the fourth, but it wasn’t enough.

“We’ve got to put together a complete game,” Coach Terrance Harris said. “You can’t play two quarters of basketball and expect to come out victorious against good teams.”

The Royals had a different player step up in the last three quarters as the number one scoring option on a young team, which only has three seniors.

“We don’t want to have just one person dominating,” Harris said. “I would say we’re still finding an identity as team — that’s the way it goes sometimes as you transition some veterans out.”

Mission Prep begins the PAC 8 season after the holiday break, hosting Pioneer Valley at 7 p.m. on Jan. 6.

This story was originally published December 23, 2015 at 8:37 PM with the headline "Mission Prep boys basketball team falls to Jesuit 75-63."