Sharks Hoops Play in Florida

The  boys varsity basketball team travelled to Orlando, Fla. this past week to play against similar-sized schools in the KSA Holiday Tournament.

The Sharks' first opponent was Norton High School of Ohio. The game took place at 10 a.m. local time (7 a.m. Malibu time), and the boys' performance reflected the early start. Malibu was never in the game, falling behind 40-20 by the half.

The only spark for Malibu was senior guard Patrick Fontenette coming off the bench. He showed no jet lag and the passion that Shark fans have come accustomed to see from the team this year. Malibu made a surge in the third quarter, but faded in the final period—ultimately losing 72-44. The team went away ruing multiple turnovers and missed opportunities.

On Thursday, Malibu faced Castlewood High School of Virginia. Due to a scheduling hiccup, the Sharks arrived at the court only 15 minutes before the start of its game. Whether by design or serendipity, Malibu was off to a fast start—leading 32-22 by halftime.

Interestingly, the tournament did not use a shot clock (apparently, East Coast schools do not play with one). Regardless, guards Kyle Sandler and Anthony Kodomichalos maintained consistent pressure on the ball to slow down the Castlewood offense, allowing the Sharks to pick up steals and force their opponent into a number of poor shots.

The aggressive play rubbed off on the team, and the Sharks were rewarded with 19 free throws in the first half. Castlewood had its girls team and a number of vocal supporters in the stands. Rather than supporting their team, the Castlewood fans directed their comments at the referees to the extent where one official had to stop the game and speak to the parents. To their credit, the Sharks maintained their poise and withstood a late push from Castlewood to win 61-52.

Junior forward Will Rosenthal was the standout, taking only three shots and scoring 12 points (not missing a field goal or free throw). Malibu should have put the game on ice early in the second half, but could not convert its free throws (making only 20 of 35). It was a team effort in terms of scoring, with sophomore center Justin Holmes scoring 15 points and grabbing 13 rebounds.

The Sharks last game of Friday was against New Hartford Central from upstate New York. The game started at 10:15 a.m. local time (after a 7:30 a.m. athlete breakfast). This meant that the boys woke up 3:30 a.m. Malibu time.

The Sharks came out slowly, falling behind 9-2 early in the first quarter. However, the defense kicked in and the boys started executing their offense, and climbed back to trail 13-11 by the end of the quarter.

Coach Bobby Tenorio used his bench to keep his guards fresh and was rewarded with a slim lead at halftime—22-21 after a steal and subsequent layup by Fontenette. Unfortunately, the Sharks came out after the break with little left in the tank, eventually losing a seesaw game 49-42.

Although the results were not as good as he had hoped, Tenorio said several positives came out of the trip. Among them were that the boys bonded well, continued to play hard and ended the preseason with eight wins and seven losses. The eight wins equals the total number of victories for the entire previous season.

"We played some tough competition this week and look forward to coming home to start League next week," Tenorio said.  

The Sharks' first league game is Friday at Santa Paula. The team is optimistic about its chances this year.