The Moorpark College men’s basketball team ended the month of January with their fifth conference win of the season.
On Jan. 27, 2024, Moorpark College faced off against Cuesta College for what would be the Raiders’ sixth conference matchup of the season. After a strong win over Oxnard College, the Raiders looked to carry the momentum to a second straight victory.
The Moorpark gymnasium housed a crowd of family, friends and peers, all there to show support for the home team. The tension of a conference game, coupled with the home crowd’s energy, set the tone for the next 40 minutes of basketball.
The Raiders won the opening tip and went to work. The two teams traded scoring possessions and were tied at 11 points just seven minutes into the game.
Moorpark would soon find its rhythm, getting significant offensive contributions from freshman guard Avi Halpert and sophomore forward Jamaal Unuakalu. The home team’s defensive pressure forced a five-minute scoring drought, and the Raiders headed to the locker room at halftime with a 49-31 lead.
Head basketball coach Keith Higgins reflected on his team’s performance and mindset after a hard-fought first half.
“The thing right now is to keep doing what we’re doing. We play extremely hard and extremely fast,” Coach Higgins said. “I think in the beginning we had a slow pace, but then they really picked it up.”
The Raiders starting five of Benyshek, Halpert, Cooper, Aronowitz, and Unuakalu picked up right where they had left off at halftime.
The team did not waste their hard-earned double-digit lead as they continued to distribute the ball well and limit turnovers. Three starters saw over 30 minutes of game action as the Raiders worked up to a 26-point lead, their most significant of the night.
6-foot-7 forward Jamaal Unuakalu made his presence felt, registering a double-double. The sophomore scored 28 points with a 12-13 shooting stat and grabbed a game-high 19 rebounds in his 35 minutes of action. Unuakalu spoke after the game about his mindset and execution around the backboard.
“When I get offensive rebounds it gives our team those second shots,” Unuakalu said. “That’s my job. Getting boards gives our team the opportunity to get second-chance shots and move the ball up the court. I kind of base my game off that.”
With a final score of 103-88, the men’s basketball team had positioned themselves in second place in the Western State Conference North division standings at 6-1. After the game, assistant coach Chad O’Connor discussed the team’s mental approach to conference matchups.
“All of the tournaments we’ve played and all the top competition have all been gearing toward these games. I think it’s starting to show through,” O’Connor said. “What we’ve been able to accomplish in these first six games so far in [the] conference is all an extension of that pre-conference play.”
The Raiders will face off against the Vaqueros in Santa Barbara on Feb. 7 as they look to improve their conference record with just five games left to play.
