On Jan. 17, the BVH boy’s Varsity Basketball team played a home game against Southwest, securing a final score of 63-47. Throughout the entire game, they maintained a consistent lead over their opponents. The barons stayed disciplined as they stayed roughly 7 to 10 points ahead against Southwest. The communication of the team is eminent as they pass the ball, creating a flow of offense and defense. Head coach of the boys varsity basketball team, Stevon Curry, elaborates on how the team was able to stay ahead.
“The key to maintaining our lead was understanding what Southwest was trying to do and stopping it through our preparation in studying their game films. We also were able to find Aaron Owens, [giving him space to score] often, which led to his career high of 34 points,” Curry said.
Senior Aaron Owens plays the position of a shooting guard and small forward. Curry describes Owens as a primary presence on the court, especially in rebounding. Curry emphasizes what it takes to succeed in a game stating, “We can not win if we can not rebound.” Owens himself emphasizes the importance of fighting for rebounds and blocking shots to prevent the opposing team from scoring.
“What motivated me to fight for rebounds and block shots was making sure that we did not let the other team score. And I just like rebounding, I always want to try and average 10 rebounds [per game],” Owens said.
Owens was a standout player in the fourth quarter, hitting three consecutive three-pointers. Another key player in the game was senior and point guard Isaiah Diaz. Curry explains how he intentionally challenges Diaz more than others because of the importance of his role in orchestrating the team’s plays.
“[As point guard], my strategy for offense was to make plays for me and my teammates, and for defense, I try to stay focused on the guy I am guarding and help,” Diaz said. “The team did well by staying poised throughout the game even though we had our ups and downs. We could improve on being more focused at the start of the game.”
Diaz acknowledged the importance of maintaining focus throughout the game as he stayed loud and encouraging. Defensively, the team stayed firm, they consistently stayed close to their opponent, but could always further develop their game. Curry further elaborates on the team’s defensive efforts.
“I felt our defense was solid. We play disciplined defense most times, but we did not do as well as we typically do against Southwest during the 1st and 3rd quarters. We could have played much better interior defense. We made a defensive adjustment in having our best defender, Treyvon Davis, guard a perimeter player who was scoring often in the 1st half. We also fronted the post, which is the foundation of their offense,” Curry said.
Davis played a crucial role in disrupting Southwest’s offensive strategy, contributing to Bonita’s consistent lead in the game. However, defense wasn’t the only factor that secured the win, but energy and support as well. Isaiah Diaz echoed this mindset, emphasizing the importance of bringing energy on and off the court. Diaz expresses how he stays ready coming off the bench.
“When starting and subbing onto the bench I hype my teammates up and be loud to keep myself ready to be subbed back in,” Diaz said. “[We make sure to maintain composure as a team by] telling each other that we’re good and we’ll hit the next one,”
It is clear that the barons have great connection and chemistry, and they continue to support each other like a family. Such chemistry allows the barons to handle situations efficiently, such as when they were ahead and Southwest tried to foul to gain points. To compensate, they as a team made sure to communicate, and not let themselves lose the game on their own.
“Communicating and making sure we did not settle for bad shots was key. We [as a team] knew we were up, so we knew [Southwest] was going to foul, so we just had to make sure we did not lose the game on our own,” Owens said.
Owens believes in the importance of maintaining intensity, stating that the team needs to “keep putting the foot on the gas.” By staying disciplined, he believes the team could continue to grow. Moving forward, Curry also identifies areas of growth where the team could still improve, specifically in terms of mindset and the team’s dynamics.
“We need to improve on controlling our egos, maturity, and emotions. We also need to stop worrying about playing time, scoring, or who gets the credit. If we can develop those characteristics, we can really give ourselves a shot at the CIF title,” Curry said.
