Tournament loss nets La Cañada boys’ basketball fourth place
LA CAÑADA — Uncharacteristically poor shooting, coupled with fatigue, led to a defeat for the La Cañada High boys’ basketball team in the third-place game of its annual tournament.
The Spartans shot 31.9 % (15 of 47) and never matched Renaissance Academy’s intensity in a 58-43 loss Saturday evening.
The Spartans (5-4) placed fourth in the La Cañada Holiday Classic after losing to Sierra Canyon on Friday night.
“We were just flat,” Spartans coach Tom Hofman said. “We just didn’t have it. Yesterday’s game had an effect and that’s a sign of immaturity.
“We didn’t muster up any energy. We’ve got a ways to go. The team chemistry is not there.”
The game got away from La Cañada in a stretch spanning 6:23 during the first and second quarters.
Zach Feehan’s three-pointer at the 6:11 mark of the second broke the cold streak during which the Wildcats took advantage by scoring 20 unanswered points.
Ryan Graves (11 points) was the lone Spartan to score in the first, as leading scorer Patric Panoosi (14 points) and the La Cañada offense struggled to find a rhythm. The Spartans trailed, 23-9, after one quarter and never cut the deficit to single digits the rest of the way.
“The start was so bad,” Hofman said. “We were giving up easy baskets and missing easy ones. It was a reflection on yesterday but we need to clean it up. We can’t let yesterday affect today.”
La Cañada trailed, 34-17, at the half and by as many as 22 in the third. Still, an 11-0 run to end the quarter had them within 13 going into the fourth. Panoosi found his touch, connecting on three from behind the arc in the frame.
The momentum would not carry over, though. Rather, the Spartans didn’t get a field goal until the 2:55 mark. Eight missed free throws in the second half didn’t help the cause either.
“When you get down by that much, it’s hard to come back,” Hofman said. “We cut it down to 13 but then ran out of gas.”
Etnik Peci of Renaissance Academy led all scorers with 18 points. The Wildcats had just six players.
“We have the talent, we’re just not maximizing it,” Hoffman said. “This next week of practice is going to be crucial.”