Monrovia falls short in comeback attempt against rival Cascade
MONROVIA — More than a week after surviving a comeback thriller with Eminence, it was Monrovia who had Cascade on the ropes late in the fourth quarter in its Battle for I-70 rivalry game.
The Cadets were out in front by 13 entering the fourth quarter, momentum seemingly on their side as they were having their way with the Bulldogs.
But then Gaven Followell happened.
After only hitting two field goals up until the fourth quarter, the senior poured in 11 points in the final quarter as he led a tremendous 17-4 charge by the Bulldogs to knot things up at 54 with under four minutes of play.
With all momentum on Monrovia's side, Cascade needed an answer. They found it as they weaved through the Bulldog zone to find Cayden Watson, who connected on a three. Then the Bulldogs turned it over on the ensuing possession and fouled Gage Alexander as he put in the fast-break layup.
Five-point swing.
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Down three in the final 25 seconds, the Bulldogs had three opportunities to make a triple and send it to overtime, but none went in their favor. The final effort was enough to push Cascade to a 63-60 win over the Bulldogs, marking their second straight win in the rivalry.
"Unfortunately it didn't go our way, but I was real proud of the effort, I was proud of the fight," Monrovia coach Nick Hinojosa said. "They very easily could have let it go, but they stepped up to the plate and fought back. Got a really good look to bring it home, and it just didn't go in, that's alright."
Ramping up the pressure
From the 7-minute mark in the first quarter, all the way to the end of the game, Cascade pressured the Bulldogs from baseline to baseline. They were aggressively searching for steals in the passing lane and flustering Monrovia's momentum.
The energy they brought on the defensive side forced the Bulldogs into a ton of mistakes, which led to a consistent eight-to-14-point lead for Cascade.
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"They want to speed you up, they want to force you to turn the ball over," Hinojosa said. "That is who they are. They did a good job of that in the first half, but I think we made more mistakes than they played well. It was poorly executed."
Even when they weren't running on the fast-break due to creating a turnover, the Cadets played up-tempo all night. They were fast and ran their offense in a hurry. Spreading the ball around allowed them to find gaps in Monrovia's defense, hitting seven threes on the night.
"They pushed the ball up the floor, and we got caught jogging back a couple times, and they broke us down, found easy baskets and we turned the ball over," Hinojosa say.
Taking away the difference makers
It was clear who Cascade wanted to take away from the start, and that was the Bulldogs top two playmakers in Todd Camic and Austin Leeds.
Camic was held to only two points in the first half but was able to put in seven more in the second half. The senior served as a focal point for the Cadets after he scored 18 points in the season opener with Eminence.
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"I thought Todd played really well, I thought he picked his spots really well," Hinojosa said. "Unfortunately, they did take him away but that's going to happen. I thought he had a really good game against Eminence and they definitely game planned for him."
As for Leeds, he was able to get off to a good start, scoring 10 in the opening half, then he had only two for the rest of the game. They would often crowd the paint when he got the ball, or with the pressure the Cadets brought, the Bulldogs would be unable to find him.
"They wanted to speed us up and then we would take a bad shot and not utilize our advantage," Hinojosa said.
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Those two getting taken away allowed for some other names to step up. Followell is the obvious one, but Trent Hale, who stayed aggressive, scored 10. Mason McClung kept the Bulldogs in the game during the third period with three made 3-pointers.
"I feel like we have six starters," Hinojosa said. "When two of our guys get taken away, that opens the gates for everybody. Three guys are ready to go."
Looking ahead
The Bulldogs, who are now 1-1, will take on Speedway in an ICC battle next Friday. Monrovia has won three of the last four games against the Sparkplugs, but were handed a 52-44 loss to them last year.
Hinojosa made it clear there will be a lot to work on in the coming week, especially free throws. The Bulldogs were just 9-21 on the night, so those numbers will certainly need improvement.
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"Definitely free throws, breaking the press, Speedway is going to play just the same," he said. "Working on handling pressure, making good decisions under duress, getting better at communicating, spreading the floor. All the little things that go into this."
Contact reporter Devin Voss at dvoss@gannett.com, or follow him on Twitter at @DevinVoss23
This article originally appeared on The Reporter Times: Monrovia comes up short in comeback attempt against rival Cascade
