To say Tuesday night’s Rio Hondo League varsity basketball game between visiting South Pasadena and the host Titans “had it all” might be a little ambitious, but also wouldn’t be too far off the mark. The rivalry. Playoff implications for San Marino. The Titans’ final home game and the requisite tribute to senior athletes that come with it. And even a little controversy mixed in to keep things even more interesting. But we’ll get to that later.
Start with the largest crowd of the season, which was whipped into a further frenzy by the introduction of San Marino’s 7 seniors, including Mohommed Haroon, erstwhile statistician and manager, who crossed an item off his fledgling bucket list by suiting up for and later playing in the first varsity basketball game of his life.
Head Coach Mihail Papadopulos adhered to his noble tradition of starting an all-senior lineup of Owen Koch, Johnny Dang, Jadyn Torres, Zach Spaulding and Jimmy Fuerst and the move resulted in San Marino taking a 13-7 lead at the end of the first quarter.
But the Tigers rode the hot shooting of Matthew Schultz, who finished the contest with 17 points, and Lucas Fox, who ended up with 16 and closed the gap to 20-16 at the half.
The gravity of the game can best be explained by saying that Papadopulos brought Titan diehard David Tyree into the locker room, where he delivered an inspirational halftime message to the squad. Between the third and fourth quarters, Tyree pulled a similar routine in front of San Marino High School’s famed Armory, which resulted in pandemonium.
It also resulted in a victory, as the hosts pulled away for a 45-38 victory.
Senior Torres led the Titans with 10 points 14 rebounds and received help from junior Chuma Azinge, who checked in with 7 points and 3 steals. Koch. Spaulding, Fuerst, and sophomore Andrew Quach each scored 6 points while junior Michael Shahan added 4 points, three rebounds and much-needed muscle under the boards.
Spaulding was also a dominant presence in the paint, collecting 12 rebounds.
“Tonight was an incredible basketball environment,” said a hoarse Papadopulos. “If you are a basketball fan, this is what you dream of. We absolutely love our school and San Marino community and love being Titans. So proud of how our boys fought tonight.”
Papadopulos also mentioned that six of his seniors worked to get Haroon suited up for the contest and even onto the court for the final 20 seconds, during which he “made a smart foul,” according to the coach.
“Mo has been so dedicated to the program and unbelievably helpful,” Papadopulos said. “Mohammed has given himself to the program just like any of our players. It was gratifying to see him come out in the starting line-up presentation of seniors and it was so much fun to see him on the floor in the waning moments of the game. We have some great young men. We love our boys and the character of this team.”
But the game was not without its challenges. The chilly evening outside, mixed with the heat generated by the large crowd inside was further nudged along by the humidity that accompanied a light rain and the result was a slippery floor. In the 3rd quarter, Azinge had a breakaway layup and fell violently to the floor when his plant leg slipped. Others had difficulty maintaining their footing and several delays ensued when coached and managers tried to wipe the floor dry.
“It would be nice if we could get some climate control in this gym,” said Papadopulos, who has been a critic of the summer heat and winter cold. Tuesday night gave him another climate condition to add to his list.
But it also put the Titans in the playoffs. Another night like Tuesday and SMHS might change the name of the rooting section from the Armory to the Jungle.
