firirsla on Healthkicker

Thursday, 27 August 2009

OR Ballers End Season

By: Jackson Long

Friday, February 27, 2009

ROCKLIN – In what was a closely contested duel for the first 16 minutes between the Oak Ridge boys’ basketball team and the Thunder of Rocklin Friday night, ended with a deceptive final score of 76-48, as the Thunder rolled on in the Sac-Joaquin Section Playoffs, while an exciting and intriguing season for Oak Ridge came to an end.

“I am really proud of these kids and I love em’,” said Oak Ridge head coach Bob Christensen. “I am not happy because we lost but we did achieve many of our goals, winning 20 games and going further than last year.”

The Trojans improved upon last season’s 17-11 record, finishing 20-7. They went undefeated at home during the SVC season and split three different rivalry series with Vista del Lago, Ponderosa and Christian Brothers, while making it one round deeper in the playoffs than last year’s squad.

Rocklin, who is seeded No.1 in the playoffs was the heavily-favored hosts against the ninth seeded Trojans, as many expect the Thunder to repeat as section champions and possibly win the state championship.

Fans from both schools packed the gym and in the fourth quarter when the game was lopsided, chants of “Where’s your state ring?” from Oak Ridge’s “O-Unit” were responded to by Rocklin’s “Sixth-Man” with “Arco, Arco!” But Oak Ridge had the last laugh, at least in the battle of the fans, chanting “Been there done that!”

The Trojans opened the game with some incredible defense, especially down low against all-everything, UCLA-bound forward Brendan Lane. Despite being out-rebounded by the much bigger Thunder squad the Trojans hung tough, holding Rocklin, who averages 76 points per game, to only ten in the first quarter.

At the end of the first, the game was deadlocked at 10-10.

Ryan Mastella drilled a three-ball to open the second quarter scoring and after some transition buckets Oak Ridge took a five point lead at 17-12, much to the surprise of almost everyone in the gym.

But when Oak ridge point guard and first round hero Chad Nunes had to go to the bench with three fouls, the Thunder began to rumble. A phenomenal slam from Lane put Rocklin within one point and by the half Rocklin held a 24-23 lead.

When the second half opened, that’s when Troy lost it. The Thunder went on a 10-0 scoring run to take a 34-23 lead.

“It came down to us missing shots and they made shots,” Christensen said.

When Oak Ridge was down 12 and the game was on the brink of being blown wide open, Oak Ridge’s Colin Johnson nailed a bucket and added a free throw to pull his team within single digits.

But Oak Ridge was no match physically for the Thunder, as the bigger, faster and more athletic Rocklin squad began clicking. Anthony Romero hit three treys for 13 points in the third alone for the home team and by the end of the quarter, Oak Ridge was down 16, 48-32.

In the fourth, Oak Ridge continued to struggle, especially defending Lane, as his outside shooting began to hit the target. The Trojans showed heart, as Nunes led his team in an upward battle late in the game, but, when the dust settled, Oak Ridge’s season concluded with a 28 point loss to a phenomenal Thunder squad.

Johnson finished with 15 points for Oak Ridge, while Lane netted 26 for the Thunder.

firirsla

- Member Since: 8/27/2009

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