MARINE CORPS AIR STATION IWAKUNI, Japan -- The Red Bulls dominated the Magic 25-17 in a 10- to 12-year-old youth basketball season playoff game at the IronWorks Gym sports courts here March 8.
The Red Bulls won the tip-off, but possession went back and forth several times until Shane Garner, Red Bulls’ power forward, ducked and weaved through his opponents for the first layup of the game.
The Red Bulls capitalized on the momentum and took an early lead 5-0.
The Red Bulls stampeded into the second quarter.
Garner started with two consecutive buckets, and Mason Coletta, Red Bulls’ point guard, followed with a layup to give the Red Bulls a healthy 11-0 cushion.
“Our offense does a good job working together,” Melissa Lindquist, Red Bulls’ head coach, said.
With 2:10 left in the second quarter, Jonathan Armijo, Magic shooting guard, was fouled and sunk one of his foul shots to finally put the Magic on the board.
Later, Brian Hill, Magic small forward, pulled down the board, drove down the court and put up a jumper for two.
Shannen Lundberg, Magic shooting guard, made a steal and was fouled attempting to capitalize. After her trip to the line, the second quarter ended looking grim for the Magic 13-4.
Possession went back and forth at the start of the third quarter until Josh Lindquist, Red Bulls’ power forward, made a layup.
Hill answered back with a jump shot of his own. Then Hill stole the ball and dished to Lundberg for a layup to begin getting the Magic back into the game 15-8.
“We need to work more on defense because we broke down in the second half,” said the Red Bulls’ Lindquist.
In response, the Red Bulls’ players stepped up their offense.
Garner drove the ball down the court and made a layup. He then stole the ball and sunk another 2-pointer. Mahlik Francis, Red Bulls’ point guard, continued the offensive assault by stealing and making a layup.
Kaelyn Francis, Red Bulls’ power forward, stole the ball and was fouled. Her trip to the line increased the Red Bulls’ commanding lead 23-8.
Garner started the fourth quarter with a pass to Kaelyn Francis who was able to make a layup.
The Magic fired back, and stopped the Red Bulls offense for the rest of the game.
“It was a pretty tough game,” Coletta said. “In the beginning, we played strong, but in the end, we started getting cocky, and they started coming back.”
The Magic’s Armijo was fouled again and went one for two at the line.
Hill stole the ball and made a layup followed by Lundberg who stole the ball twice and capitalized on both making it 25-15.
Hill ended the game strong when he stole the ball and made a layup but couldn’t overcome the deficit from the first three quarters. The game ended 25-17.
“We’ve come a long way this season, and I’m just happy to see how much they’ve improved,” Jessica Lang, Magic head coach, said. “All the kids got out on the court and had fun.”
With this loss, the Magic were sent to the losers’ bracket of the tournament.