After a thrilling first-round win over Culver City on Wednesday, the Saugus Centurions found themselves in yet another thriller on Friday night against the visiting Trabuco Hills Mustangs of Mission Viejo.
By the end, the Centurions were defeated by the Mustangs 60-54 and were eliminated from the California Interscholastic Federation Southern Section Division 4 playoffs.
“I just feel bad for our guys, especially our seniors,” Saugus head coach Alfredo Manzano said. “We’ve gone through a lot of ups and downs. We put a lot of work into this. We’re just very limited offensively, and we can do all we can defensively, but it just didn’t work out for us today.”
The team was ahead at halftime with a 27-21 lead over the Mustangs.
But in the opening minutes of the third quarter, the Mustangs came out with a fast-tempo offense and went on an 8-2 scoring run to tie the game at 29 apiece.
Both teams battled back-and-forth, but Manzano added that the Centurions just weren’t able to be as physical as the Mustangs in the second half.
“We knew they were going to start bringing the pressure, making it hard for us to bring the ball down,” he said. “[Trabuco Hills] was the more physical team down the stretch, and it showed, and they were able to hit some shots down the stretch, and we weren’t.”
In the fourth quarter with five minutes remaining in the game, the Mustangs took a 47-43 lead after back-to-back scoring possessions and didn’t hand the lead back.
The Trabuco Hills’ defense ran down the clock and prevented the Centurions from rallying as the Mustangs held on for the win.
After the game, Manzano added that he feels for his seniors, especially forward Braydon Harmon, who officially scored his 1,000th career-point in the loss off a dunk late in the first half.
Manzano added that Harmon is a special player he’s going to miss coaching despite only being with the varsity team for two seasons.
“I was super excited for him,” he said in response to Harmon’s achievement. “He did it in two years. His first six games as a junior, he couldn’t even average two points a game. So, that’s what’s so impressive to me is that we’re not running crazy [plays] for him. I mean we tried, they didn’t work. But he still got that milestone.”
Harmon ended the night leading all Saugus players in scoring with 15 points.
With the loss, the Centurions are eliminated from the CIF playoffs, and their season is over.
As for Manzano, although the result is still fresh, he’s just proud of the adversity and grit his players have shown over the course of the season for them to get to where they are, such as the comeback win in the first-round.
“All I know is that I am proud of the guys they never give up, they never quit,” he said. “They keep fighting, and they show what our culture’s all about.”
After Friday night’s games, here are scores from the second round of the California Interscholastic Federation Southern Section playoffs:
Edison 58, Valencia 56: In the second-round of the Division 2 playoffs, the Valencia Vikings were defeated on the road to the Edison Chargers of Huntington Beach.
With the loss, the Vikings are eliminated from the playoffs.
Golden Valley 61, Los Altos 54: In the second-round of the Division 3 playoffs, the Golden Valley Grizzlies defeated the Los Altos Conquerors of Hacienda Heights.
With the win, the Grizzlies advanced to the quarterfinals and will return to Golden Valley High School to host the visiting Warren Bears of Downey Tuesday.
Canyon 60, Anaheim 52: In the second-round of the Division 7 playoffs, the Canyon Cowboys secured the road win over the Anaheim Colonist.
With the win, the Cowboys advanced to the quarterfinals and will host visiting Vista Del Lago on Tuesday.
Victor Valley 88, Trinity 54: In the second-round of the Division 8 playoffs, the Trinity Knights were defeated on the road to the Victor Valley Jackrabbits of Victorville.
With the loss, the Knights are eliminated from the playoffs.
Photos below from the Centurion’s loss to Trabuco Hills:
