Maranatha boys basketball continues to build strength as it beats Beckman in CIF-SS playoffs ...Middle East

PASADENA — The Maranatha boys basketball team earlier this season was plagued by injuries and staring at a 4-12 record. It seemed like nothing could go right for the Minutemen.

But coach Tim Tucker rallied the players, telling them no one was going to quit. They listened and it’s been paying off, as Maranatha is now headed to the CIF Southern Section Division 3AA quarterfinals following a 71-50 win over Beckman on Friday night in the second round of the playoffs.

Maranatha (13-16) will now face Linfield Christian or Palm Desert on Tuesday night. If Maranatha wins that game, the Minutemen will qualify for the CIF State playoffs.

“I told them I think there’s something bright at the end of the rainbow,” Tucker said when discussing how the team was able to turn its season around. “We’re going to ride this train and keep going and they’re doing that.”

That train is going to be hard to slow down now that Maranatha is getting healthy. The team will get even healthier as starting guard George Pamilton is likely to return next week. He sat out Friday due to an Achilles strain.

“(Beckman) was favored to win, actually,” Tucker said. “People just don’t know how good we are. We’ve been injured all year. We’ve only had five games with all the players here.”

Maranatha was led by junior forward Harrison Harper, who led the game in scoring with 19 points. He also grabbed eight rebounds.

Harper was among four Minutemen to score in double figures. Senior Giacomo Manzella scored 15 points and hit three 3-pointers. Senior Bryan Lopez-Wood added 13 while senior Chris Smith scored 12 while grabbing eight rebounds. Isaiah Lemongo scored eight points off the bench.

“We really played hard and needed this one,” Harper said. “We came out from the start and played good defense. Good shooters. Good passing. We needed to lock (Beckman) down and that’s what we did.”

Maranatha used its tight defense to force Beckman into difficult shots while also controlling the glass by grabbing rebounds. That and some timely steals led to transition offense and fast-break points.

The Minutemen never led by fewer than six after the halfway point of the first quarter. O

ne example of defense leading immediately to offense was when Smith got a steal early in the second quarter and drove down for a layup to put Maranatha up 25-15. Lopez-Wood later scored on a layup after swiping the ball. That put the Minutemen up 34-20 late in the second quarter.

Maranatha’s pushing the ball down court looking for quick baskets enabled the team to go into halftime up 36-25.

“We’re not a great half-court offensive team,” Tucker said. “Our thing is to get stops and run. We want to score in transition.”

Beckman regained some control of the tempo in the third quarter, doing a better job of preventing Marantha from pushing the ball down court. But the Minutemen were just too strong on offense. Lopez-Wood scored five straight points off layups and a free throw to stretch Maranatha’s lead from 38-30 to 43-30 early in the third quarter.

Beckman cut the Maranatha lead to 49-43 late in the third when Qusai Azem buried a 3 from the top of the key. But the Minutemen kept their composure and used a 6-0 run from the end of the third to early in the fourth to take a 55-43 lead. During that run, Lemongo scored four of those points.

Beckman wouldn’t go away quietly though. The Patriots trimmed the Maranatha lead to 57-50 with 3:20 left in the game when Azem scored under the basket. Manzella responded for the Minutemen in a hurry. He saw an opening toward the basket and drove down the left side for a layup to put his team back up by nine. Beckman would get no closer.

Maranatha’s final points dazzled the crowd. Lopez-Wood drove to the basket and threw the ball off the backboard to a trailing Smith who leaped and grabbed the ball for a monster dunk that got the gym roaring.

“In the locker room (Tucker) told us ‘Defense first,’” Harper said. “He got us into that mode. Defense leads to offense, and we just take that mentality into the whole game.”

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