A season opener in any sport, at any level, can be a stressful experience.
Add in a preseason quarantine due to a pandemic and a very delayed start, and you have the ingredients for a tough night.
For the first few minutes of the WCA boys basketball season opener on Monday night at Holy Cross, the Spartans looked like a team suffering through first-game jitters and sluggishness. The Crusaders were on fire, getting 3-pointers from Kyle Lombardi (25 points), Jahvon Myrthil and Nate Muniz. And then, WCA flipped a switch.
After falling behind, 16-3, the Spartans pulled to within 10 points, 20-10, by the end of the opening quarter. WCA got to within a point twice in the second quarter and trailed by five, 35-30, at the half.
The Spartans outscored the Crusaders, 50-39, in the second half to pull off an 80-74 comeback win. Zion Lott was big for WCA with a game-high 37 points (four 3-pointers). Jaden Stallworth added 13 points, including a trio of 3-pointers. Carlos Calle had eight points, Cyris Smith and Sonny Pierce added seven points each, and Gerald Council chipped in with six.
For the Crusaders, Ashton Sannasi had 21 points (three 3-pointers), Muniz added 13 (three 3-pointers) and Myrthil chipped in nine (two 3-pointers).
Caption: WCA senior Zion Lott (2) had all eyes on him, but still scored a game-high 37 points in Monday’s win at Holy Cross.
PHOTOS: Here are my photos from Monday night’s game.
