Patriots fall in battle to Centurions
- Updated: February 3, 2022
2021-22 EAST COUNTY PREP BOYS BASKETBALL
By Dave Dickens
EastCountySports.com
EL CAJON (2-1-2022) — It was predicted to be a close one and would be a battle to the end, and boy was it.
Both squads came out fighting on offense and defense. University City set the tone, this would be a close one, 14-13, after a quarter of play in favor of visiting University City.
University City picked it up a bit offensively in the second quarter and heading into the half, up 34-27. Christian’s Ben Felice put up three three-pointers and a bucket to lead the Patriots in the first half of play with a total of 11 points.
At the end of the second half, you could tell that the Patriots had just a few more seconds, maybe Felice or Patrick Perez could hit the three at the buzzer and walk off with the win.
Unfortunately, that wasn’t the end result for the Patriots, who did win the second half, 26-21, but the final read 55-53, in favor of University City not without a valiant effort on behalf of the Christian Patriots.
Perez had a fantastic game, 15 total points with one three-pointer, 2-for-2 free throws, five rebounds, two steals, and a block. Felice, also a phenomenal effort, with 14 points, four three-pointers, two rebounds, and a steal.
Hunter Provience had eight total points, six rebounds, 1 steal, and 2 blocks.
The Three Musketeers, The Three Amigos? Just some overall great basketball players.
“This was a painful game but I can’t wait for Friday night against La Jolla,” Christian High head coach Tim Brown said. “We need to win these next couple of games in order to reach the playoffs,” said Felice.
When asked about the key factors to winning out the rest of the regular season?
“Execution, playmaking, and giving it everything we have when it comes to loose balls and taking chargers,” said Felice.
“In this particular game it came down to just seconds and of course, you always want more time on the clock, but we had to make the most of what we had and we just fell a little short. They were a solid team who shot well, and we had a lot more chances, we just couldn’t finish tonight. We see them again on Saturday the 5th, and I think we can game plan better for them and win for sure,” said Provience.
