
By Rick Assad
There were several opportunities for the Burroughs High boys’ basketball team to emerge victorious during Saturday night’s Pacific League game against Muir.
In the closing moments of a tight affair, the Bears couldn’t muster enough points, committed too many turnovers, did poorly at the free-throw line and lost 65-61.
A three-pointer by Burroughs junior guard Nico Meza with 47.7 seconds left in the game gave the Bears a 60-57 cushion.
An explosive fourth quarter witnessed each team scoring plenty as the Bears accounted for 21 points while the Mustangs had 23.
In the fourth frame, the Mustangs didn’t go away and seemed to play with even more intensity as freshman point guard Evan Hill, who scored 10 points, nailed a trey that evened it at 60-60 with 13.5 seconds left.
When Muir sophomore center Magomed Khayauri (team-best 18 points) added a bucket, the advantage became 62-60 with nine seconds left on the clock.
The Mustangs (6-15 and 1-4 in league) added three more points at the charity line, and this was more than enough.
Darryl Carter is the Burroughs coach and acknowledged the poor play late.
“Missed free throws and turnovers late in the game killed us,” he said.
The Bears (5-17 and 0-5 in league) saw three players score in double figures and they were sophomore Owen Everhart with a team-high 16 points, Meza with 15 and junior Elliot Lawrence with 14 points.
Lawrence tallied eight points in the fourth period, Meza, who nailed two three-pointers, had seven and Everhart tossed in six points.
The Bears made 24 of 56 shots for 42.8 percent and the Mustangs hit 24 of 37 for 64.8 percent.
Burroughs hit seven of 12 free throws for 58.3 percent but drilled three of eight for 37.5 percent in the second half.
Muir was successful on 15 of 23 from the free-throw line for 65.2 percent and converted 13 of 15 for 86.6 percent in the second half.
Muir seized control of the first quarter as sophomore shooting guard Yahya Ayoob scored seven of his nine points that included a three-pointer.
Burroughs countered with four points each from Meza and Everhart.
Role reversal was the order of the second quarter as the Bears outscored the Mustangs 19-10 and led at the intermission 29-27 after making 12 of 18 attempts for 66.6 percent.
In the second frame, Burroughs, which shot 40.7 percent at the half on 11 of 27, made three from three-point range and Everhart and Lawrence each accounted for four points.
Muir used the third quarter as a catapult as the visitors moved ahead 42-40 as Khayauri, who converted eight of nine free throws, tossed in eight points.
Junior Evan Baker scored all of his four points in the third period for the Bears while junior guard Teagan Bradford, who scored six points, nailed his second three-pointer.
Khayauri added eight points in the fourth period and Muir senior forward Logan Moore contributed six of his 10 points.
Also, scoring for the Bears was junior Evan Lanier with a three-pointer in the second quarter and sophomore Daniel Beltran with a three-pointer in the same period.