One pass, two pass, three pass, four.
Five pass, six pass, seven pass, score.
Brian Buencamino’s second-quarter 3-pointer capped a typical Hart High possession in a Thursday night home opener governed by a running clock down the stretch.
Indians senior Renz Brual scored a game-high 22 points as the Indians pulled away for a 74-38 non-league win over Poly High of Sun Valley.
The ball rarely stopped moving for the home team. The Indians made 19 first-half field goals on 14 assists.
“It’s the best because you never know who’s going to score,” Brual said, “and it’s high-fives after every play.”
Brual scored seven of Hart’s first 13 points, propelling the Indians (7-2) to a 24-9 lead after one quarter.
Hart led 51-18 at halftime in a game it played without four impact players.
Luca Robinson and Tre Harrill won’t be eligible until Jan. 2 after transferring in from West Ranch and Heritage Christian of Northridge, respectively. Whitten Dominguez (hip) and Ben Kaufman (knee), two of the few underclassmen in Hart’s rotation last season, missed the game with injuries.
PHOTOS: Hart rolls over Poly in home opener
Both are expected back before Foothill League play opens in January. But it won’t be hard, Brual said, to incorporate them back into the offense.
“That’s the great thing about the way we play,” said Brual, who made 7-of-9 field goals against Poly. “… The ball keeps moving, and everyone gets there touches, and it just stays the same.”
Hart whipped the ball around the perimeter, tossing it into and out of the high post Thursday against a Poly team that alternated between a 1-3-1 and 2-3 zone.
The pinball mentality meant open shots. Hart’s Harry Speight scored 12 points, while Caleb Waldeck and Buencamino each added 10.
“Any time there is ball movement with a disciplined team like Hart, that’s going to cause chaos for us on defense,” said Poly coach Alan Woskanian, a Santa Clarita Valley resident.
Luke Penalosa led the Parrots (0-1) with 17 points. But it wasn’t enough to keep up with the three-time-defending Foothill League champions.
Hart graduated all five of its starters from last season, though. So the expectation was that more responsibility would fall to Dominguez and Kaufman.
Dominguez has missed Hart’s last eight games with a hip pointer. Kaufman hurt his knee last week in the championship game of the Heritage Christian tournament, 64-58 Hart loss to the host school.
With those two and the transfers available in January it will all come together?
“We’re hoping man, we’re hoping,” said Hart coach Tom Kelly.
