Our First Truly Humbling Loss

We went down hard last night. The final score, 50-39, does not do the game itself justice. A friendly recap is available at CCSC's Athletics webpage, so I will spare you some crucial, and gruesome details.
Prospect Hill beat us in every facet of the game. They boxed out, brought more intensity, played under more control, had more viable scoring threats, moved the ball quickly, battled for loose balls, pressed us the entire game, hit their free throws.
A silver lining, though, if one can be sought out amidst some of the rubble and stunned CCSC hoopster faces after the game, is that we could not have played worse. PHA must, in truth, receive a lion's share of the credit for our playing poorly. However, we must have had thirty turnovers, of every variety and by almost everyone. We threw passes into teammate's feet, threw passes into the stands, seemed as if we had never handled the ball on fast breaks before. We folded under pressure, forgot our offensive and defensive principles. We scored, but then forgot about defense. We forgot about the whereabouts of our assignment, leaving uncontested layups coming out of time-outs. The game did not end as more of a blowout because we traded hoops with them or, rather, Bayoan traded hoops with PHA. Featured in a few of these pictures, Bayoan, who went scoreless during the first half, carried our team and made things respectable, pouring in 18 after the intermission. What?! Do some quick math and, well, that's a grip of points. The trick will be involving him more early, though figuring out a way to do it that does not leave the rest of the team frustrated. Finding the balance between his scoring and his dropping dimes and getting others involved will be a perpetual project. Impressively, he is more than eager to undertake it... Geo, also, amidst a sub-par game had one drive to the hoop that made us realize where he needs to be playing and what this absurdly athletic 9th grade captain is capable of achieving on the court someday. On the left baseline, out by the three, Geo took a hard dribble with his left and then another. In one clean, sweeping motion, he drove past his defended and sliced back into the lane, cleanly laying the ball in with his right hand. It was lightning fast and explosive. We will try to get him to work from that spot, and run the baseline more, tomorrow afternoon. Needless to say, I cannot wait until that's a dunk one the opponent admirably trying to help, but we're not exactly there yet.It was a sound beating. We closed the gap to three with some time remaining in the second half, but could not come all the way back. They were tough and resilient. They did not fold under pressure and deserve tremendous credit. PHA was the first team we played to have multiple threats, coming from seemingly everywhere and happening at opportune moments.
These kids had also played together for some time, within a system for a few seasons and had a senior center who set the tone and played aggressively, though under total control. Their coach, a slickly dressed man who made my corduroys and button down look like pajamas, barely seemed to give instructions. His game plan was simple and well-executed.
Orin, this morning, admitted to me that he, too, had had a tough time sleeping. He felt like we were out-coached in addition to being outplayed.
I laid into our guys pretty hard after the loss. Our post-game meeting was short and sweet. The kids were dejected. Luckily, they were all smiles and stories today in school, which is their beauty. They did play so hard last night, but it was not meant to be...
Tomorrow against Boston Collegiate, our last before we head into the vacation break, will be crucial. A win will bring us to 2-4, a loss will drop us to 1-5. Regardless, we will have some taste lingering in our mouths for a few weeks, and I would prefer for it not to be a sour one. They're predominantly white. We're not white at all. It should be a lot of fun, as always. Oh, and I'll be honing my coaching using hand signals skills as my voice is totally gone, the result of some sickness and a lot of screaming last night. These small gyms are incredible, but also loud. Fan noise makes it all electric, but getting a player's attention is nearly impossible, as is disputing calls, which I still find myriad ways to do.
Thanks for following. Here's to hoping for a holiday win. But first, a pre-game, night-before Hanukkah dinner with my grandmother and others. I'm sure we'll talk hoops until Elsie lays down the law and we review my brother's wedding, or something. Then Randy and I will sneak some hoops talk under the table, perhaps.
Light a candle for us.