Trailing sixth-ranked Kentridge by six points at halftime on Saturday night, Auburn boys basketball coach Ryan Hansen had a simple message for his team.
“He told us to stop hanging our heads when stuff goes bad and start playing together as a team and get the win,” said Auburn guard Carlo Lavoie. “We didn’t play well in the first half. We came out sluggish and they came out aggressive. We went into halftime and talked about it and executed pretty well in the second half.”
Pretty well might just be the understatement of the season for the Trojans. Because during a pivotal third quarter, Auburn outscored Kentridge 22-9, sparking a 65-57 come-from-behind South Puget Sound League North Division win over the Chargers.
“It was a real big game because we were right behind them in league play,” noted Lavoie, who poured in a game-high 23 points.
The magnitude of the win wasn’t lost on Hansen.
“This is a team that we’re competing with for playoff spots, so it was a big game for us,” the coach said. “And anytime you can go on the road and get a big win on someone else’s home court, it’s good for the program and these kids.”
The Chargers (7-2 in league, 8-5 overall) came out of the gate riding the hot hand of senior guard Laron Daniels, who scorched Auburn (8-2, 10-2) for 13 first-half points.
During the intermission, however, Hansen challenged senior guard Jeff Gouveia to clamp down on Daniels.
The Auburn senior did just that, holding Daniels to four points in the second half. The Kentridge guard, however, still finished with a team-high 17 points.
“He just told us to calm down and work harder on defense and lock down some guys that were scoring,” Gouveia said. “And we just got it done.”
Kentridge’s Shaquielle McKissic, who averages 14.6 points per game, second on the team, missed the game with a foot injury.
“We knew (Kentridge’s) Gary Bell is a great player and we concentrated on him, but Leron really stepped up in the first half,” Hansen said. “We talked about not letting the other guys step up and hurt us. And I challenged Jeff at halftime to stop him. And he came out and did a great job.”
The Trojans also did a solid job defending Bell, the SPSL North’s second-leading scorer at 20.6 per game. Bell was held to just 14 points.
The Chargers mounted a challenge in the fourth quarter, pulling to within three points before the Trojans got the game under control.
“I thought our energy on the defensive end of the floor during the first half was a little flat,” Hansen said. “We talked about that and made some adjustments in the second half and mixed things up just to get our guys a little more focused in and I think that helped us with our flow on offense. They stopped thinking too much and just started playing on instinct the way they’ve been playing all year.”
Three Trojans reached double figures in scoring. Lavoie led the way followed by Iszia Johnson (13), Gouveia (12) and Isaiah Johnson (10).
The win for Auburn coupled with Kentwood’s victory over second-ranked Federal Way on Saturday created a two-way tie for second place in the North between the Eagles (8-2, 10-2) and the Trojans. Kentridge dropped a half game behind Federal Way and Auburn in the win column. Kentwood (8-1, 9-3) took over the North’s top spot with its win over Federal Way.
“I really like the components of this team, the way we’re made up,” Hansen said. “I like our toughness and our grit. And we’ve got kids that have won a lot of games during the past four years.”
