13 December 2012
By Griffin Ferre, Copy Editor
In Star Wars Episode V, Yoda teaches Luke Skywalker that he must exercise control of the Force in order to become a Jedi Knight. While Poly boys’ basketball coach Mark Vanta has not had his team carry him on their backs or lift X-Wing fighters out of ponds, he is preaching a similar message to his team: control the game. When the team executed plays such as the one in which Bailee Freidman (12) hit Cody Vaughan (12) on the run for a breakaway layup at the beginning of the second quarter, the team appeared to be in control and Vanta would nod his head approvingly. However, when the players threw the ball over their teammates’ heads and out of bounds, Vanta would mutter disapprovingly. Luckily for the Bears, they were able to execute more plays of the former throughout the game en route to a 60-45 victory over Norco High School on Friday, December 7.
The game began as a defensive slugfest in which neither team scored until Norco put in a layup with 5:47 minutes left in the first quarter. Early on, Poly appeared to be out of sync; numerous miscommunications resulted in players turning the ball over and passing the ball to places where their teammates had just vacated. The tide turned when later in the first quarter, Matt Slater (12) stole the ball and burst out on a dash to the rim, where he was fouled. He proceeded to sink his two free throws and turn the game’s momentum in Poly’s favor — an advantage the team would not relinquish. Coedy Laing (9) was very effective in the paint throughout the game, and executed a nifty post maneuver late in the first quarter for a basket. The team would close out the first quarter with an 11-9 advantage.
The Bears seemed to exercise more control over the game in the second quarter, cutting down on their turnovers and orchestrating numerous breakaway buckets. Freidman also drove into the lane for a pair of baskets. The team was rewarded for its efforts with a 28-20 lead over Norco entering halftime after outscoring its opponent 19-9 in the second quarter. The team took the drama out of the game in the second half by cruising to a comfortable margin of victory. JD Builteman (10) was particularly adept at scoring for the Bears, leading the team with 15 total points, including six late free throws.
This win was the last of the team’s four games in the Riverside Kiwanis Tournament, in which it went 2-2 throughout the tournament. The team’s effort improved the Bears’ season record to 4-4. The next game against Rancho Verde on Friday, December 14 will be its first Inland Valley League matchup.