Aztecs can't hang on

BARSTOW • The Barstow High School boys basketball team just hit a wall.

A 7-foot, 265-pound wall to be exact.

Led by sophomore center Kyle Caudill, Brea Olinda grabbed a 59-58 win on the road against Barstow on Wednesday night in the opening round of the CIF-Southern Section Division III-A playoffs.

The Aztecs couldn’t find an answer for Caudill, 15, who played an emotionally-charged second half and led all scorers with 27 points at Don Bilsborough Gymnasium.

“I think the problem was they had something they could go to,” Barstow coach Mark Hassell said. “When they got in trouble, throw the ball to (Caudill) inside and there was going to be a limit to what we were able to do.”

The Aztecs couldn’t find a shooting groove for much of the game, with numerous shots ringing in and out of the basket. What hurt them most was their free-throw shooting. Barstow missed eight foul shots in the first half and went 7-for-21 from the free-throw line in the game.

It was a heartbreaking playoff loss for the Aztecs, who had the lead and possession with less than a minute to go. With a 58-57 lead and looking to eat clock, Barstow took its time getting upcourt when an errant pass changed the complexion of the game. Barstow guard A.J. Jefferson spotted his brother Earl at midcourt for a pass, but Earl wasn’t looking and the ball rolled off his fingertips with 36 seconds left.

Caudill made the Aztecs pay one final time when he received the ball in the paint and scored the winning basket off the Aztecs turnover. He was fouled on the play and raised his pumped his fists in the air, a familiar sight during the fourth quarter.

Barstow still had a chance to go ahead on two more possessions, but the Aztecs weren’t able to get Earl Jefferson the ball. On the final possession, Michael Curran received the ball from Jaccob Muir and found Jefferson open just outside of the lane, but Jefferson couldn’t get full possession of the ball. Hassell blamed himself for giving Muir unclear instructions coming off a timeout before the play.

“We went to a play that we had done a lot,” Hassell said. “We had just worked on it before the game and it worked perfectly. We should recognize it when it opened up.”

In his final game as an Aztec, Earl Jefferson, the reigning Desert Sky League Player of the Year, scored 25 points.

“Jefferson is a spectacular player,” Brea Olinda coach Bob Terry said. “We couldn’t do anything. It seems like every time there was a missed shot, he got the rebound.

“We were really concerned about (Jefferson) because we don’t have a lot of super athletes on our team and Barstow’s really athletic. Zone worked real well tonight, I thought. We did not let them penetrate.”

Hassell said he felt worst for Muir and Earl Jefferson, who had been with the program in two previous trips to the playoffs when the Aztecs got blown out.

“It’s frustrating because we had so many people returning this year,” Hassell said. “We had a great opportunity to win this game. It would have been nice for the kids that have been here. I feel bad for them because we were sort of on the cusp.”

Brea Olinda led for most of the first half, but Caudill picked up his third foul with 4:54 remaining in the first half and sat out until the start of the second. With the score tied, the Aztecs weren’t able to pick up a lead with Caudill out and entered halftime down by one. Terry credited his bench players for not letting Barstow on a run with Caudill out and called it a pivotal momentum swing for his team.

BREA OLINDA (59)
Caudill 27, Baublit 13, Bishop 6, Pickering 4, (N/A) 4, Oyebanji 1.
BARSTOW (58)
E. Jefferson 25, A. Jefferson 14, Embry 8, Muir 5, Robles 3, Reese 2, Curran 1.

Brea Olinda 15 10 13 21 — 59
Barstow 13 11 18 16 — 58

3-point field goals — Brea Olinda 1 (Baublit); Barstow 5 (Embry 2, Muir 1, Robles 1, A. Jefferson 1). Fouled out — Embry (B)

Matthew Peters is the sports editor of the Desert Dispatch. He can be reached at 256-4124 or at mpeters@desertdispatch.com.