This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Sports

Uni Boys Hoops Rallies Past Bell

The Wildcats overcome sluggish first half, advance to Division II semifinals.

Just as it had in the early stages of its City Section playoff opener last Thursday, the University High boys basketball team looked flat and out of sync in the first half of Tuesday night's Division II quarterfinal game against eighth-seeded Bell.

Once the Wildcats got rolling, however, there was simply no stopping them. scored 15 of his 22 points in the second half and Tony Sodnompunsum made four three-pointers as top-seeded University (24-8) outscored 28-15 over the final two quarters to win 54-44.

"Once again we took the other team lightly, even though [head coach ] warned us about it," Nwaba said. "In the second half we brought the defense, got out on the shooters and did our job."

Find out what's happening in Brentwoodwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Nwaba not only became more aggressive on offense in the second half, driving to the basket at every opportunity, he was also more active on the defensive end. At times, he looked like a human fly swatter in the lane, finishing with eight blocks and five steals. 

Will Thorton, Andrew May and Frank Nyenke each added six points for University, which trailed 29-26 at halftime.

Find out what's happening in Brentwoodwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

"It happened against Marshall [in the first round] too and this habit of not coming out ready is a genuine concern of mine," Ackerman said. "Bell is a team I was very concerned about. They are well coached and I thought they should've been more like a 3 to 5 seed. I was afraid we would get complacent at some point and sure enough that's what happened in the second quarter." 

The Eagles (13-11), who finished second in the Eastern League under head coach Alexander Del Hierro, outscored University 15-11 in the second quarter led by seven points apiece from Mychal Deas and Jesus Chiquete. 

"We played at our pace in the first half and did a pretty good job containing them," said Bell head coach Alexander Del Hierro, who saw his 11th season come to an end. "In the second half they slowed down our tempo with their matchup zone and our shots weren't falling."

Deas finished with 14 points, Chiquete had 11 and Jonathan Cortez added 1o for the Eagles, who beat University in the semifinals on their way to the Invitational title in 2007. 

"My belief is that no high school player is worth double teaming," Del Hierro said when asked about his gameplan against Nwaba. "In the first half we kept him in front of us but in the second half he got a lot of loose balls and transition baskets. These kids gave it their all, though, and that's all I can ask."

Ackerman had not been pleased with his star's play against Marshall, but said Nwaba made better decisions Tuesday: "When you have a player of that ability you have a tendency to overcoach, but I know that over the course of a game he will do far more to help our team than hurt us."

Motivation shouldn't be a problem for University from here on out. In the semifinals Thursday night, the Wildcats will host San Pedro, which beat the Wildcats in the Division II championship game last winter. The 12th-seeded Pirates upset No. 4 Granada Hills, 51-47, in the quarterfinals Tuesday night.

"Hopefully we can play our game right from the start," Ackerman said. "Falling behind game after game will catch up with eventually, especially against a good team."

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?