BOYS’ ROUNDUP : Pacifica Ends Kennedy’s Streak at 37

Kennedy’s 37-game Garden Grove League winning streak ended Thursday night with a 95-81 loss to a Pacifica team that was a good as advertised. But afterward, the visiting Fighting Irish weren’t conceding anything to the fifth-ranked Mariners.

“Any team can be beaten on any given night,” Kennedy senior guard Wes Morris said. “They just happened to be the better team tonight.”

Pacifica was certainly the deeper team and the better perimeter-shooting team. The Mariners came at Kennedy in waves as Pacifica Coach Bob Becker used 11 players liberally. The Mariners led, 45-44, at halftime, but wore down Kennedy in the second half with their size and their relentless three-point shooting attack.

Ryan Teague (19 points, four three-pointers) broke the game open by hitting two three-pointers from the corner in Pacifica’s 13-0 run that opened the second half.

“That’s one of my favorite shots to shoot on the floor,” Teague said. “I just thank my teammates for getting me the ball and God for letting the ball go in.”

Said Kennedy Coach John Mayberry: “It’s funny because at halftime I told our team to watch out for 30 (Teague) and 54 (Chris Vlasic).”

Vlasic did much of his damage after halftime too. Saddled with three fouls in the first half, Vlasic scored 11 of his 19 points after halftime and also grabbed six of his nine rebounds after intermission.

The Fighting Irish (5-10, 3-1 in league) closed to within five points twice in the fourth quarter, but every time they got close Pacifica (13-1, 4-0) would usually counter with a three-pointer.

“They can shoot, and they don’t stop shooting,” Mayberry said.

Still, Morris (18 points, six steals) wasn’t convinced of anything.

“They outplayed us, but I just can’t wait to play them again,” he said.

In the Academy League:

St. Margaret’s 88, Vista Cal Lutheran 30--Damian Raibon scored 16 points to lead three St. Margaret’s players in double figures. St. Margaret’s is 10-3, 2-0.

In the Metro League:

Pacific Shores 54, Colton Christian Center Academy 53--Josh Kalb scored a layup with eight seconds left to give host Pacific Shores the victory. Kalb had a team-high 15 points for Pacific Shores (5-4, 3-2).