The562’s coverage of Cabrillo Athletics is sponsored by the Cohn Family.
The562’s coverage of Long Beach Wilson Athletics is sponsored by Joel Bitonio, Class of 2009.
Friday night was something out of a Hollywood script for guard Lincoln Dean and Cabrillo boys’ basketball.
The Moore League fourth-place tiebreaker for the last automatic playoff bid came down to the final possessions at Lakewood High School, and Dean scored 12 of his game-high 24 points in the fourth quarter to carry the Jaguars to a 58-55 victory over Wilson. At this time last year, Dean had just left the Bruins basketball program before transferring to Cabrillo.
“It’s revenge,” Dean said. “They talked a lot of crap about me last year and I had to send it back. Karma.”
Cabrillo (16-13) is going back to the CIF Southern Section playoffs for the first time since 2013 after setting a program record for wins under second-year coach Chris Spencer.
“All credit to the players, but I had a five-year plan to turn Cabrillo into a powerhouse and we’re right on track,” Spencer said. “I told people we’d be competitive by working and building a culture. It’s just holding people accountable to grades and everything like that. Our lowest GPA on our team is a 3.1 versus the years they battled with ineligibility… I told The562.org (before the season) that we’re selling out for a playoff spot, and we’ve got a shot (in Division 4A).”
Wilson (16-13) beat Cabrillo on Thursday night in the regular season finale to force the tiebreaker, and once again held a lead throughout the game. However, Dean the Jaguars was better in the fourth quarter by getting to the free throw line.
With 16 seconds left and Wilson leading 55-54, an off-ball foul on Dean sent him to the free throw line where he made both for the lead. Dean said his desire to beat his old team made sparked his performance down the stretch.
“It makes me better to be more aggressive and show people what I’m made of because I didn’t really get a chance last year,” Dean said. “I’m very glad I went against (Wilson) to show my true power.”
Cabrillo junior Mason Johnson was also fantastic in multiple roles while scoring 15 points and grabbing 14 rebounds with five of those coming on the offensive boards.
“We flushed (the loss on Thursday) and had to move on,” Johnson said. “We had to keep pushing with a high motor. It worked. I had to give it my all and leave everything on the court to help my team win. It feels great to make history and we’ve got to keep going.”
Johnson also had a key drive to the basket and layup that cut the Wilson lead to 55-54 with about 1:30 to play.
“I was yelling for him to stop but he believed in himself and that’s the type of confidence we pour into him,” Spencer said. “If he believes in it, I believe in it.”
Wilson’s defense came out in the press and forced Cabrillo into six turnovers in the first quarter while building a 17-10 lead. Spencer adjusted by letting Johnson bring the ball up, and the Jaguars only turned the ball over nine times for the rest of the game.
“He’s never been in a role like this and he’s just thriving,” Spencer said of Johnson. “We ask him to do so much and handle the ball because we know he’s quicker than most big guys. He broke the press consistently and allowed us to get into our half court offense. I don’t care about the stats, he was the player of the game for me.”
The loss is extra hard to swallow for Wilson considering the Bruins led for the entire game on Thursday, and only trailed for about a minute on Friday.
“It’s two really good teams so it really comes down to who is going to make plays,” Wilson coach James Boykin said. “Last game, the ball bounced our way and we made a couple more plays than they did. This time the same thing happened. If we played them ten times it would probably be 5-5.”
Wilson senior Hayden Rodriguez scored a team-high 14 points while freshman Evan Mack chipped in 10 points and junior Nathaniel Parris finished with nine points.
The Bruins were in full control of the proceedings in the middle of the second quarter when 3-pointers from Rodriguez and Jeremiah Graham pushed the lead to 36-22. However, a Dean 3-pointer and strong play down low from senior Kahliel Williams got Cabrillo back in the game. The Bruins led 38-29 at halftime.
“We’ve started slow before so we knew not to get rattled,” Spencer said. “I knew that my composure in the huddle would keep them composed.”
Cabrillo slowed the game down in the third quarter and started attacking the basket while limiting Wilson to just eight points in eight minutes. The Bruins led 46-40 headed to the fourth quarter when Dean and the Jaguars turned up the heat.
“We just needed energy straight out of the locker room, from the 12th guy all the way to the first guy, we just needed energy,” Dean said. “When I was getting to my spot, being more aggressive and getting guys looks, I had (my team) on my back.”
In the game on Thursday, Dean missed seven free throws that loomed large down the stretch, and he knew that as he went to the charity stripe on Friday where he was 7/8 after halftime. He made all four attempts in the fourth.
“I missed a lot (on Thursday) and I knew mentally I had to check in,” Dean said. “We had to make our free throws because that’s where we were killing them the most… We were more aggressive and drawing fouls.”
That aggressiveness also helped Dean draw the off-ball foul that led to the game winning free throws. However, not everyone agreed with the call.
“It’s ridiculous, it doesn’t even affect the play,” Boykin said. “They called a lot of fouls down on that end. So, what do you do? You just keep competing. I was talking to the refs, letting them know what was going on and it wasn’t changing the calls. But we just have to keep competing on our end, you can’t have any excuses.”
Cabrillo was 21-for-26 from the free throw line, and Wilson finished 8-for-16 from the stripe.
“That was the most hard earned win of the year,” Dean said. “This is a bunch of guys that I love. I’m glad we beat them because it makes a statement. And now going to the playoffs, we’re about to make some history.”
“We legit feel like we’re contenders in (Division 4A) but we just had to get in,” Spencer said. “If you can go through this game and compete and pull out a gritty win like that it prepares you for the playoffs… That Wilson team is good and I still think they’re going to get (into the playoffs with an at-large bid) because they deserve it. They’re going to make a push if they’re fortunate enough to get in.”
CIF-SS playoff brackets will be released on Sunday.
Considering the events after the game Thursday, before this game Wilson principal Rebecca Caverly took the mic before the game and reminded parents to “be here for the kids.” Cabrillo principal Ngoc Nguyen also had the team captains from both teams read the Moore League code of conduct.
