Basketball league play is finally here. Unfortunately for the St. Monica boys basketball team that means hitting the road. St. Monica’s Camino Real League schedule has the Mariners matching up Bosco Tech and St. Paul at away games for the first two contests.
The Mariners get a chance to play their first league game at home in front on their fans Jan. 22 when they go up against Cathedral.
The Mariners will be counting on their Big Three of Spencer Gorman, Kavin Dotson and Dennis Ashley to carry the team to the league crown. Gorman was the big man for the Mariners in a 65-49 win against West Torrance last Friday.
Gorman scored a career-high 29 points and pulled down 11 rebounds in the win. The difference in the game was the play of the Mariners in the second quarter.
St. Monica outscored West Torrance 16-2 in the second period and was able to ride that cushion to its ninth win of the season. Outside of that quarter, West Torrance played St. Monica almost evenly the rest of the game.
Gorman also added three blocked shots in the win. Dotson added 14 points to support Gorman’s efforts, while center Xiangyu Meng contributed with nine rebounds.
The Mariners’ victory celebration was a short-lived celebration after taking on Bishop Amat the next day. In their final tune-up before league play, the Mariners got off to a slow start in the game and eventually dropped a 57-49 decision on Saturday.
Bishop Amat outscored St. Monica 24-15 through the first two quarters and that was enough separation for the Lancers to hand the Mariners their seventh defeat of the season.
Dotson and Kavion Simab both totaled 11 points to lead St. Monica. It was a tough game for Gorman, who finished the contest with just eight points and eight rebounds. Gorman converted only two of the 15 shots he attempted from the field.
