Staff Writer Saint Garcia
Richland’s men’s basketball team (9-8) won comfortably against their conference rival Mountain View Lions (15-7) 109-81 on Jan. 26.
From the tipoff, the T-Ducks started offensively in a rhythm that seemed to overwhelm their opponents by converting back-to-back 3-point jumpers. Within five minutes into the first half, the T-ducks were ahead by 15 points and it wasn’t just their offensive efforts putting them ahead. It was their defense as well. Every time the Lions tried to drive into the paint for a layup, someone was there to steal the ball and convert those turnovers into points at the other end.
By halftime, the T-Ducks were ahead 56-42.
Coming into the second half, the T-Ducks plan seemed simple. That was to continue to do what they did in the first half, overwhelm their opponent with defensive presence and grab rebounds for second-chance scores. Early on it appeared the Lions seemed to gain their confidence by running the 2-3 zone defense. This would put the T-Ducks in a tough position making it more difficult to convert layups and fast-break scores crossing half-court.
About six minutes into the half, the Lions forced the T-Ducks into a turnover by holding them behind midcourt longer than eight seconds after the ball was inbounded. You could see the frustration starting to set into Richland as fouls kept getting called on them putting Mountain View to the foul line. The Lions were able to bring the lead down to five points with eight minutes left in the half giving Richland plenty of time to cool down and reset their game plan.
At that moment, momentum the T-Ducks needed set in and lit a fire that let the Lions
know that their attempted comeback was just a temporary feeling. The thing about Mountain View’s plan with the 2-3 zone defense is that it has a weakness for outside shooting. That’s exactly what Richland did alongside grabbing rebounds to be able to have second- chance shots.
Richland’s David Favorite, Brandon Jack- son and Ed Trahan combined for 69 points. Trahan finished with 27 points, eight rebounds, two assists, two steals and two blocks. Jackson had 21 points, three rebounds and two steals. Favorite had 15 points, three rebounds, seven assists, and one steal. Everyone on the team contributed to this win. It shows how quickly the T-Ducks can adjust. Richland finished with 33 rebounds while also shooting 56% from the field with an impressive 45% from the 3-point line.
