Thousand Oaks Routs Channel Islands, 62-42

When the Thousand Oaks basketball team showed up for its game against Channel Islands on Friday night, Coach Ed Chevalier showed up with something new for the new year and the new Marmonte League season.

“Something had to change,” Chevalier said. “I guess growing this beard is my way of shaking myself up for the new season.”

Fortunately for the Thousand Oaks team, however, it didn’t play as ragged as Chevalier looked. But after Friday night, it appears that winning may be something that’s growing on the Lancers, if their 62-42 blowout of Channel Islands is any indication.

Last year, Thousand Oaks lost to Channel Islands twice in a pair of one-point heartbreakers, and finished with a disappointing record of 6-6 in league play. The losses to the Raiders have been on Chevalier’s mind ever since.

He couldn’t wait to face Channel Islands again. This season, Chevalier was determined to change the look as well as the result of the Lancers’ games with the Raiders.

“We played well in league last year except for the two Channel Islands game,” Chevalier said. “We had to get off to a better start with them this time.”

For the new-look Lancers, it was a new player that helped ring in the new season. Junior guard Kevin Martin finished with 18 points and six rebounds, both tying team highs.

Martin scored eight points, including three straight baskets, as Thousand Oaks jumped to a 23-17 lead in the second quarter. But Channel Islands’ center Gerald Boyd scored 13 first-half points, keeping his team within striking range of Thousand Oaks at 27-22 at the end of the half.

Chevalier and the Lancers had blown leads against Channel Islands before, and when the team took the court in the third quarter, they had a couple of things in mind.

“I kept asking them ‘Where’s Boyd?’ to try to make them aware of him on the court,” Chevalier said. “We had to stop that guy.”

The Lancers not only stopped Boyd, they nearly shut him out. Boyd scored just two points in the entire second half as Thousand Oaks pulled away.

“I don’t know exactly what we did out there to stop him, but he never really got his hands on the ball in the second half,” Chevalier said.

The way Thousand Oaks (6-5) stopped the Channel Islands’ (5-6) fast break--another of Chevalier’s concerns--was a little easier to spot.

“I think we actually scored more fast-break buckets than they did,” Chevalier said. “They really didn’t make any when it mattered.”

Thousand Oaks made plenty that mattered and counted during the third quarter, where they outscored Channel Islands, 16-6, on their way to a 1-0 mark in the Marmonte League.

Forward John Schlossman scored all of his eight points in the second half and Martin added four more as Thousand Oaks made sure there would be no one-point losses this time.

“We tried to make sure we played our own game,” Martin said. “We didn’t want to try to run with them. You can run a little bit, but you can’t overdo it.”

Thousand Oaks limited the starting guard tandem of Victor Caro and Marlo Hemsted to just four points each, and starting forwards Mo Qualls and Omar Otis scored just three and two points, respectively.

Thousand Oaks put the game away with a 17-point final quarter.

Bruce Watson also finished with 18 points and six rebounds for Thousand Oaks.