IRVINE – It wasn’t supposed to end this way for Pasadena’s boys basketball team. In a season of adversity – one in which five players and a coach were displaced by the horrors of the Eaton fire – their storybook season should have continued Friday night.
Instead, it is Irvine that turned the page on a Cinderella season.
The Vaqueros defeated the third-seeded Bulldogs, 66-57, in the second round of the CIF Southern Section Division 2A playoffs.
The Irvine lead was often double-digits but it felt like a nail-biter with Pasadena always on the verge of making a run.
“It felt close,” said Irvine big man Cooper Stearns, who had 22 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists. “They can have stretches where they shoot the ball amazing. It definitely felt close. Everyone came ready to play. They knew what was at stake. I’m really proud of everyone.”
Irvine (28-2) will play at Cabrillo of Long Beach in the quarterfinal round Tuesday.
Pasadena ends its season 17-8.
Pasadena coach Anthony Brooks came away impressed with what he saw.
“They run their stuff, believe in their system, cut hard, play hard, and they’re a good team,” he said. “We didn’t bring our A game. We felt we had some advantages and could exploit those things, but to their credit, they kept us out of sync. Hats off to them and their coach.”
Irvine guard Jalen Yim knew that his team didn’t look like it matched up.
“We knew that everyone thought Pasadena was going to beat us,” said Yim, who had 21 points. “Their size, their athleticism, their strength. We knew we didn’t have that size, that athleticism, but we knew we had the bond and the trust in each other. I think our coaches also created a really solid game plan for us … That pushed us to be the best possible team we can be.”
Whenever the Bulldogs barked, the Vaqueros answered, sometimes with a 3-pointer – they had seven – and sometimes under the basket; and in the end, they answered from the free-throw line. Irvine also displayed a defense that held Pasadena to just 31 points through three quarters as it extended its lead to 16 points, 47-31.
That quarter ended with a 3-pointer by Yim; the ball bounced several times after the buzzer before finally falling in.
“The anticipation,” Stearns said. “It was a big momentum booster for us.”
Irvine was still ahead, 58-42, with 3:31 left in the game. But Stearns had four fouls and the defensive strategy was to not foul. Pasadena turned up the pressure and aggressively attacked the basket, pulling to 58-50 with 1:36 remaining.
Yim scored a layup to quell the momentum shift. From that point, Irvine made 6 of 8 free throws to remain out of reach.
Yim and Ali Dal were fantastic for Irvine. Yim’s 21 was a career high, and Dal had 10 as both hit big shots to keep the momentum going Irvine’s way. Holden Stearns also contributed 11 points, but no shot was as big as Yim’s 3-pointer just 53 seconds into the game. Irvine had turned the ball over against Pasadena’s pressure on the first possession, then Yim unloaded.
“That was the biggest shot I’ve ever made, biggest shot of my career,” Yim said. “To set the tone in a second-round playoff game – it’s win or go home. That’s just really important as a team. It set the energy, and from there on, all of us – the bench, the crowd – we had high energy and that pushed us on for the win.”
Irvine coach Harry Meussner said his game plan was to get Yim going early. It paid off. He had nine in the first half, and nine in the fourth quarter.
Pasadena was led by Desmond Every, who scored 21, including 16 in the fourth quarter. Troy Wilson added 15 points. In his return after missing four games with a calf strain, 6-foot-10 junior Josh Irving was held to eight points, as was I’ke Mitchell.
“It’s disappointing. We wanted to rally for the community,” Brooks said of his program, which has been affected by the wildfire up and down the lineup. “Not just us, but what the entire community has gone through – we wanted to be that flag-bearer for the entire community, and that’s disappointing that we weren’t able to do that.
“However, these kids represent Pasadena High School and the city of Pasadena and their families at the highest level. There’s disappointment in the loss, and of course the season is over, but there’s still pride in what we accomplished and what we do on a year-in, year-out basis.”
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