Bell-Jeff Wins Tournament!

Santa Monica The Bell-Jeff boys’ varsity basketball team have a new look this season. They wear new uniforms and t-shirts with statements on the back proclaiming “family unity and pride”.

They also are developing a new attitude, determination and new style of play that is reminiscent of their female counterparts, the Lady Guards.

They also have a new championship trophy to display in the school hallway after winning the 3rd Annual St. Monica Invitational on Thursday night.

Now, under the direction of new head coach Bryan Camacho, the boys are learning the value of hustle, hard work, focus and sacrifice that earned the Lady Guards a CIF section and Div 5A State Championship last year.

Camacho readily admits they have a long way to go but so far, this new found “sense of urgency” has already shown signs of paying off. In only their first taste of competition, they defeated Wildwood, Marshall/Pasadena and tournament host St. Monica 80 - 57 in the finals.

The boys team improved each game and showed signs of the aggressive, attacking style that opponents of the Lady Guards know all to well averaging over 70 points a game.

After wins over Wildwood (73-57), Marshall/Pasadena team (66-54) and the defending CIF small school champion LACES Unicorns (62-58), the Guards faced St. Monica who breezed through their pool to make the finals.

The contest started off slow, with almost four minuets gone by before either team scored. After a slew of missed lay ups and open jumpers from both sides, St. Monica finally broke the ice and built a 6 point lead in the first quarter before Bell-Jeff rallyed to go up 42-40 at the half.

In the beginning of the third quarter, the Guards quickly squandered their lead allowing the Mariners to put together a 6 point run forcing a time out. Camacho proceeded to settle his team down and inserted a defensive lineup that included senior Emery Else and sophomores Andre Frazier, Elijah Reed and Austin Mitsunaga who locked down the Mariner offense, erased the deficit and build a 4 point lead.

Late in the third quarter, freshman Aaron Cosme got hot from behind the arch, hitting 3 pointers at will and the Guards never looked back.

Every Guard scored in the contest and defensively, they were able to hold the Mariners to just 17 points in the second half, the majority of those coming from free throws.

Tournament standouts were Andre Frazier, All Tournament Player and Kevin Yuemyongsakul who was named Tournament MVP.

Overall, Coach Camacho was pleased with the victory, but knows that they still have a long way to go. He believes the talent is there and once everyone buys into the system and learns to trust each other, this team will do amazing things this year.

If this tournament is any indication of thing to come, he just might be right.

Next week, Bell-Jeff is entered in the Viewpoint of Calabasas tournament, then will play host to their own tournament, which begins Dec. 14.

Eric “Rico” Reed