If lessons are to be learned, the Burbank High boys’ basketball team picked a good time to learn a valuable lesson.
After leading Camarillo High much of the contest, the Bulldogs could not finish off their opponent and ultimately fell 60-56 Thursday in the semifinals of the Village Christian Christmas Classic.
“We lost our composure, they got momentum and it was over,” Burbank point Cameron Sweeten said.
Sweeten said Burbank (10-2) will use this game to learn from.
“That’s how we’re going to take it,” Sweeten said. “We play these games to get better. It is not league yet. We care about every game, but league is where it counts.”
The Bulldogs clearly showed they are capable of playing against top teams. Burbank led 20-17 at the end of the first quarter, 41-35 at halftime and 49-41 at the end of three quarters.
“I thought we played well for 31 minutes. We lost our composure a little bit towards the end,” Burbank coach Jamayne Potts said. “They (Camarillo) forced the turnovers and made the big shots.”
Perhaps the difference in the end was the play of Camarillo point guard Jonah Cottrell and 6-foot-6 sophomore swingman Jaime Jaquez. Cottrell made 13 of 15 free throws and finished with a game-high 28 points. Jaquez, who clearly showed he will be playing for a major college one day, had 23 points.
“I thought Thomas Clark did a great job on him the majority of the night,” Potts said of guarding Jaquez. “We switched our defenses up a bit so they would be uncomfortable. I thought we played well.”
Burbank held the lead until the 2:07 mark of the fourth quarter when a three-pointer by Cottrell tied things at 54. Cottrell later hit a pair of free throws to give his team the lead.
Camarillo (10-3) got a huge three pointer from Justin Nguyen with 47 seconds to play, giving his team a five-point lead.
“I thought we executed our game plan on both ends of the floor and took care of the ball,” Potts said. “Their biggest thing (Camarillo) is they score a lot of points off second-chance opportunities. We did a pretty job of not giving them second-chance opportunities.”
Burbank was led by Michael Woods, who had 16 points. Faraz Khandaker had 13 points for the Bulldogs. Sweeten, Clark and Abdullah Kobaissi each had eight points. Ben Chavez had three points.
