A poor start doomed the St. Patrick-St. Vincent High boys varsity basketball team in a 69-43 loss at El Cerrito last Thursday.
El Cerrito (11-2) opened the game with a 26-5 run and never looked back, handing the Bruins (12-2) their worst loss of the season and snapping SPSV’s eight-game winning streak.
“We came out a little tentative early and they just blew us out of the water,” said SPSV head coach Derek Walker. “They came out ready to play and we didn’t.”
The Gauchos have won four straight and are ranked No. 22 in the state according to MaxPreps. SPSV’s other loss this season came at De La Salle, a team ranked No. 17 in the state.
Senior wing Carlos Johnson led the Gauchos with 19 points on 9-of-16 shooting and also grabbed a game-high 13 rebounds. Teammate Sayeed Pridgett, a 6-foot-4 junior guard, added 13 points, 11 rebounds, four assists, four steals and four blocks. Sophomore Aaron Banks had 10 points.
Sophomore Tavian Henderson was the only Bruin who had a good night, pouring in a game-high 21 points with eight rebounds. The rest of the SPSV roster combined for 22 points, with no other Bruins scoring more than six.
“We had some opportunities to stay in the game but we didn’t make the plays,” Walker said. “(El Cerrito) is definitely the best team in our league. They’re really good. If we can learn from this experience and come out a little more prepared the next time we play a good team, it’ll be worth it.”
The Bruins fell to 1-1 in the Tri-County Athletic League’s Rock division, tied with St. Mary’s, Salesian and St. Joe’s for second place. El Cerrito is the division’s only undefeated team at 2-0.
SPSV plays at St. Joe’s on Tuesday.
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