Forgettable effort dooms Providence boys’ basketball
BURBANK — It was the sort of game that Providence High boys’ basketball first-year Coach Michael Westphal would rather forget.
On the heels of his Pioneers losing, 60-38, to visiting St. Genevieve in Saturday evening’s nightcap of the Providence Pioneers Showcase, the stats told a tough story.
Providence (8-8) committed 22 turnovers, missed several point-blank shots and converted only seven of 23 free throws, which made Westphal’s head spin afterward.
“We beat ourselves,” Westphal said. “We missed around 20 free throws tonight, including the front end of several one-and-ones that could have led to more points.
“Credit to St. Gen’s defense for the turnovers, but when you miss that many free throws, that’s on us. When you miss six uncontested layups, that’s on us. If we make a decent percentage of layups and free throws, it’s a different game.”
Though the Valiants (5-9) entered with a sub-.500 record, their effort was hardly subpar.
St. Genevieve’s pulled away midway through the third quarter just as Providence had sliced a 15-point deficit to 33-23 on a three-point play from senior guard Matthew Meza (10 points) at 5:37.
The Valiants countered with a 12-1 run to take a 45-24 advantage with 50 seconds left after a layup from Gee Anglade, who led all players with 17 points.
The highlight of the run came a couple of possessions earlier when Valiants sophomore guard Avery Edwards connected on bounce pass between the legs of a running Pioneers defender to Anglade, who converted a layup.
Providence never recovered, as the Pioneers trailed, 48-26, after three quarters.
St. Genevieve turned in a show Saturday evening as All-Pioneers Showcase selection Pharoh Allah (12 points) connected on two rim-rocking dunks in the first and third quarters that were buoyed by a pair of thunderous blocks from Edwards and Allah.
When asked if his team overlooked St. Genevieve, Westphal didn’t believe the squad’s 4-9 record heading into the game had anything to do with the final result.
“We just didn’t play well, that’s really it,” Westphal said. “A couple of days ago we played 4-9 St. Monica and had a great effort and great intensity. The difference was we just didn’t have the same intensity and that happens with high school kids.”
Outside of Meza, the Pioneers had a bright spot in junior guard Kirk Helling, who finished with a team-high 15 points and was named an All-Pioneers Showcase selection.
“Honestly, St. Genevieve just played a lot better,” Helling said. “I feel like they controlled the tempo. We should have done better to have a better grasp of the game. We let them control the pace and we really let go of the game.”
Luis Escobar added 13 points for St. Genevieve, which scored the first nine points of the game and led, 14-4, after one quarter.
The Pioneers kept the deficit at around 10 points until Escobar hit a back-breaking 30-foot three-pointer as time expired to put the visitors up, 29-16, at halftime.
