“On Wednesday, Feb. 14, Mission Bay boys basketball, the No. 2 seed in the CIF Div. I playoff bracket punched their ticket to the CIF quarterfinals by routing the Poway Titans 74-45. Mission Bay would start behind the eight ball, going down 10 to 5 three minutes into the first quarter, largely due to simple mistakes and a few sloppy turnovers. But those uncharacteristic first three minutes of play would be quickly washed away, as the Bucs would respond with a 23-2 run over the next nine minutes of play, giving them a 28-12 lead with 2:55 to play in the second quarter. Spearheading the massive run was Mission Bay’s aggressive defense led by Marcos Korch, Isaah Whitehurst, and Charlie Hutchinson, who would combine for five steals and three blocks during the run.
“The goal was to make them uncomfortable. We knew they could not handle pressure, so we went a little bigger, got physical with them, and pushed the pace,” said Mission Bay head coach Marshawn Cherry. “Our press and traps were effective in speeding them up. They’re a North County team, and up there, it’s all about sets and execution, so we wanted to take them out of half-court sets and have them scramble and be forced to make basketball plays. The guys executed the game plan perfectly…”
