Kennedy Boys Basketball Holds On Against Long Beach

The Long Beach Marines had every intention of breaking up the Kennedy Cougars’ five-game win streak on Friday night at Kennedy High School, but never led as the Cougars prevailed 48-41 in the Conference AA-III matchup.

The Cougars, led by Joey Karo and Adrian Rose, who combined for 25 points and nine rebounds, have won six straight games and haven’t tasted defeat since Dec. 8.

Brian O’Gorman had seven points and two blocks for Kennedy, while Mike Teich added eight points, including a big three-point play late in the fourth quarter.

Josh Trone led the way for the Marines with 13 points, while Cedric Coad and Jaymen Teemer added 11 and seven, respectively.

The game was physical from the get-go and the first half featured 21 fouls, including two technical fouls which were handed out to Rose and Teemer after a small scuffle led to the players talking back and forth.

“They were banging down low, we were just fighting for the rebounds,” Rose said. “Everyone is trying to get the rebound, stuff happens down there and you have to keep your cool. I tried to do my best and I didn’t think I deserved a technical, but it happens. I came out in the second half and controlled myself.”

“They all respect each other, they’re all great kids,” Long Beach head coach T.J. Burke said of the game’s physicality. “You’ve got some football kids out there that are just good athletes. No harm no foul, it wasn’t too bad.”

Score: Kennedy 48, Long Beach 41

Records: Long Beach 2-2 (2-4); Kennedy 4-0 (6-1)

Heroes: Several players stepped up their game for the Cougars, but it was Karo who led the way down the stretch. The senior finished with 14 points, eight of which came in the fourth quarter and went 6-for-8 from the charity stripe to help secure the win for the Cougars.

“Joey’s so important to the squad,” Kennedy head coach Rory Block said of his point guard. “Without him we’re a lot different. He handles the ball and he’s our best outside shooter, so when you can send him to the line, it’s a good thing.”

On the other side of the ball was Long Beach’s Trone, who finished with 13 points, including six in the fourth quarter. With his team trailing by four entering the fourth, Trone stole a Kennedy pass and went the length of the court to keep his team in the game.

“Josh has been our guy lately. He’s so athletic,” Burke said. “… Earlier we were playing him on the perimeter, once we put him inside he was great against the zone.  He can do it all. He can pump fake, he can drive, he can shoot. He did a nice job.”

“I just took my shots when I was open and did what I had to do,” Trone added.

Turning Point: With the lead dwindling and the Marines fighting to come back, Kennedy’s Teich drove into the paint, pulled up and drained a huge basket while being fouled in the process. He completed the three-point play moments later and gave the Cougars a seven-point lead.

“[We had] a couple of big hits, especially Mike Teich’s three-point play – the jumper he hit when he was fouled,” Block said. “Those are big baskets and we were able to outlast them.”

Quotable: “I thought Long Beach did a great job,” Block said. “They really got us into a frantic pace and caused a lot of turnovers, a lot of problems. They kept us out of sync. I think we gained some composure in the second half, slowed them down a little bit and got some better looks.”

Bottom Line: Long Beach’s full-court pressure caused a few early problems for Kennedy, but the Cougars settled down at the half after a talk with their coach and took over for the rest of the contest.

“We played good," Rose said. "We got a little panicky in the beginning, but we went in at halftime, talked, settled it down and then just knew what to do. We set the tone and hit some shots.”

Long Beach fought back early and tied the game at 23-23 at halftime just before the buzzer, but had trouble holding onto the ball late.

“When they went man we had a little bit of a mental breakdown and then down the stretch, still in it, down two, down four, [we had] careless turnovers,” Burke said. “But defensively it was very good.”

The Marines finished with 13 turnovers and struggled to hit their shots in the second half when the time called for it.

“We have to stop turning the ball over. Also, we have to score when we’re on offense," Trone said. "... We just couldn’t finish layups. We’ll get them next time though.”

Box Score