Kennedy Has No Trouble Beating El Camino Real

The teams in the Valley League are beginning to develop a pecking order. There’s the lower division, the middle division, and then there’s Fairfax High. On Friday night, El Camino Real traveled to Kennedy hoping to climb out of the cellar and reach the middle division.

But Kennedy had other plans. The Golden Cougars, with thoughts of challenging Fairfax for the league title, defeated El Camino, 66-47.

“We’ve got to do what we’ve been doing for the last 10 games,” Kennedy Coach Yutaka Shimizu said before the game. That meant giving opposing teams a steady dose of 6-4 Marcus Malone, complemented by a strong supporting cast.

As the first quarter got under way, it looked as though Malone might steal the show as he scored nine of his team’s first-period 19 points. Malone finished with 17 points and 8 rebounds.

“Marcus played well in the first half,” Shimizu said. “In the second half the team took over.”

Malone received offensive help from Clarence Williams, who scored 17, and Steve Bethley, who had 14.

El Camino features Sean Davis, who averages 21 points and 13 rebounds a game. Davis finished the game with 25 points and 13 rebounds, but although he had better-than-average statistics, he wasn’t happy with the game overall. “They beat us in the paint,” Davis said.

“We got killed on the offensive boards,” El Camino Coach Mike McNulty said. “They’re a lot more athletic than us.”

Kennedy led at halftime, 36-22, and a play early in the third quarter typified the second half. Malone charged down the court on a breakaway and tried a tricky reverse slam. The ball bounced out, but as it went all night, a Golden Cougar teammate was there to put the ball back in the basket.

El Camino continually tried to make it close in the final quarter, but Kennedy controlled the boards.

Kennedy now prepares for the upper class of the Valley League: Fairfax and Cleveland.