When the Canyon Cowboys boys’ basketball team needed him most in Wednesday’s playoff opener, senior Eric Kubel delivered in the clutch.
Trailing the El Dorado Golden Hawks by one with two minutes to play in the fourth quarter at Canyon High, Kubel hit a 3-pointer to give the Cowboys the lead.
Kubel followed that up with another three to make it a two-possession game, and the Cowboys’ defense stifled El Dorado in the waning minutes to give them a 58-49 win in the CIF Southern Section Division 2A first round.
“It’s a big feeling,” Kubel said. “I worked my whole life for this, so I kind of expect it, but it’s definitely a huge feeling.”
Kubel finished with a game-high 22 points and six rebounds, scoring half of his points in the fourth quarter on four-of-five shooting.
“Our team is a team full of players. It’s not just one guy,” said Canyon (20-9) head coach Ali Monfared. “But that’s what Eric does. He makes clutch shots in clutch moments.”
El Dorado (21-9) was led in scoring by senior Noah Barker with 18.
Canyon moves on to face Dos Pueblos (15-14) at Canyon High on Friday at 7 p.m.
The two teams took a few minutes to get going offensively, but once they did, it was back and forth all night. Neither squad led by more than six until Canyon went on a 10-3 run to close out the contest.
Monfared said it wasn’t surprising that the game was as tight as it was even though Canyon was the top seed in the bracket. This is the first season in which the Southern Section is using what it has called a “competitive-equity playoff model,” in which a computer ranking system was used to determine which divisions teams are placed in, and then which teams in those divisions made the cut for playoffs.
Only results from this season were used to formulate those rankings, rather than using prior years to split teams into divisions as it was previously done.
“There’s no seeds in this bracket. Everyone’s evenly matched,” Monfared said. “You’re getting 32 of the best teams in that cluster. And so it’s fun because every game is a hard game, and that’s how it should be in the playoffs. Nothing should be easy.”
While Kubel starred at the end, seemingly every Cowboy did something on Wednesday to lift Canyon to victory.
Whether it was seniors Chigo Osuji and Noah Madrigal crashing the offensive glass to create second, third and even fourth chances, or senior Solomon Sims making the extra pass to hit Kubel for the go-ahead three, Monfared praised his team for buying into the game plan.
“Credit to our players. They bought into all of our film preparation, and they buy in at practice,” Monfared said. “We do a lot of hard things like defense and we run and we’re in condition, and it comes in the fourth quarter, like when we’re trying to wear you out. And we had a mantra tonight that we’re not going to get out-competed on our home court.”
Osuji had 13 points and eight rebounds, four of them on the offensive end, while senior Daniel Gonzalez had five points in the first quarter to give the Cowboys a much-needed early lift.
Senior Isaac Yuhico had six points and five assists and Madrigal had six points and five rebounds, four of them on the offensive end.
“That’s what we’re all about.,” Kubel said. “We’re about playing defense, getting the best shot possible, and just killing teams on the hustle standpoint.”
The Cowboys have already secured the most wins for the program since 2014, but they’re seeking more. Should they continue this run, Canyon could face Foothill League rival Valencia in the championship game. Valencia beat Canyon late in the regular season to knock the Cowboys out of the league title race.
“We want to get our, we call it our ‘get back,’ on them,” Kubel said.
Here’s what else happened as Santa Clarita Valley boys’ basketball teams played in the first round of playoffs on Wednesday:
Division 2A
Valencia 70, Walnut 48: The Valencia Vikings advanced to the second round in Division 2A after beating Walnut at home, 70-48.
Noah Trevino led the way with 18 points and Dabe Princewill had 13. Steven Irons and Issac Michel-Zavala each had 11 points.
Valencia is set to travel to Cabrillo in the second round on Friday.
Palm Springs 64, West Ranch 33: The West Ranch Wildcats saw their season end after a 64-33 loss at home to Palm Springs.
Had West Ranch won, Canyon and the Wildcats could have met in the quarterfinal round.
Division 2AA
Pacifica Christian 62, Saugus 41: The Saugus Centurions, co-champions of the Foothill League with Valencia, fell to visiting Pacifica Christian, 62-41.
Bryce Mejia had 14 points and Braydon Harmon had 12 to lead Saugus.
Division 4A
Chino 95, Trinity 55: The Trinity Classical Academy Knights traveled to Chino High and lost on the road, 95-55.
Cy Mitchell had a double-double for Trinity with 21 points and 10 rebounds. Noah Phillips added 18 points and eight rebounds.
Paloma Valley 61, SCCS 41: The Santa Clarita Christian Cardinals saw their season end at the hands of hosts Paloma Valley, 61-41.
