Templeton boys basketball one win shy of program record after beating Atascadero, 62-53

As the final buzzer sounded Tuesday night, the Templeton student section (also called the “Wingmen”) rushed the court. Soon joining the ensuing celebration were members of the Eagles boys’ basketball team.

The Eagles (20-6, 6-1 Ocean) defeated Atascadero (12-13, 4-3 Ocean) 62-53 on Feb. 6 to lock up the Ocean League title. After falling to the Greyhounds in the previous league matchup in overtime, the Eagles exacted their revenge.

Looking at the season overall for Templeton, the team has accumulated 20 wins on the season to six losses. According to head coach Lawren Ramos, the team is now one win away from tying the highest single-season win total — 21 — in Templeton boys basketball history.

“This is a special group,” Ramos said. “They put in the work, and they’re very talented and that’s a tough combo. Were there moments that we were doubting ourselves? Yes. But that’s what the season is about.”

Among the crowd of green and white on the floor after the conclusion of the game, junior Trevon Carter-Givens’ head stood above the rest.

The 6-foot-9 forward finished the game with 14 points and grabbed multiple offensive rebounds. While the official scorebook doesn’t keep track of blocks, the unofficial count from the Templeton scorekeeper was five blocks for Carter-Givens.

According to Ramos, Carter-Givens has already secured the Eagles’ single-season block record.

“My game last year was iffy,” Carter-Givens said. “This year, we got in the lab, got stronger.”

The Greyhounds and Eagles battled through the first three quarter staying within one possession of each other a majority of the time. The Greyhounds led 29-27 at halftime, making timely three-pointers and securing key rebounds to keep the Eagles at bay despite being at a size disadvantage.

But late in the third quarter, the Eagles made their game-sealing run under the leadership of senior guard Luke Asplund.

He finished with 20 points, including 12 in the second half. On a series of possessions, Asplund got to the basket at will and finished multiple layups over the defense.

Atascadero’s leading scorer was senior guard Jarom Damery, who led the way with 17 points, including three three-pointers.

Damery had to take on a majority of the scoring responsibility due to Templeton’s defensive game plan to shut down Atascadero’s sophomore guard Shea Buckley.

The Eagles assigned a defender to deny Buckley the ball after Buckley dominated in the teams’ last matchup, according to Carter-Givens. Buckley still found ways to score, including a timely and-one finish in the fourth quarter.

Even with the loss, Atascadero Head Coach Augie Johnston believes the season has been a successful one so far.

“We got a lot of young guys on this team, four sophomores,” Johnston said. “We didn’t know what was going to happen this season, and so far we’ve competed with everybody and had some big wins.”

Templeton’s Ryan McNamee also didn’t know what to expect from his team going into this season.

“I’m going to be totally honest with you,” McNamee said. “I was a little nervous about the team, but after our first game, I was so surprised that everything fit great. “

With multiple key seniors departing the team, McNamee, who finished with 14 points, has had to take on a leadership role and sees his job as “setting the pace.”

For the Eagles, their goal is to win CIF, McNamee said.

“It feels great to lock up league,” he said. “We just need to go to CIF and see how it goes.”