On Wednesday, Feb. 14, the Moorpark College men’s basketball team was set to play in what would be the most pivotal game of this rapidly concluding season.
After winning eight of their nine conference games coming into Wednesday night, five of those coming consecutively, the Raiders were staring down the team that handed them that sole conference loss.
Allan Hancock arrived at Moorpark College riding an impressive 18-game winning streak. Unbeaten in conference play, the Bulldogs were looking to lock up the No. 1 seed in the Western State Conference North division.
The home team had that same goal in mind, with some added motivation to avenge that blemish on their otherwise perfect conference record. Even with two games left to go, this game felt characteristic of the culminating moment of a special season.
As the Bulldogs won the tip and started with the ball, the Moorpark defense, which would total 25 forced turnovers, wasted no time showing their opponent how physical they intended to make the game. The stalwart full-court pressure applied pressure from baseline to baseline. After nine minutes of basketball, the game was tied 13-13.
Both defenses continued to battle throughout the first half, neither team allowing their opponent to build any significant lead. The two teams seemingly traded basket after basket. As the first half clock whittled down, the Raiders managed to work themselves into a three-point lead heading to the locker room, up 34-31.
The buzzer sounded to indicate the start of the final half, and it appeared as though the back-and-forth style of the first half would continue. That was until Allan Hancock went on a 2-10 run, putting them up 44-52 with just over 12 minutes left.
Being down in the second half was not uncharted territory for the resilient Raiders team. Just four days earlier, Moorpark was down against Ventura with only two seconds to play and walked out of enemy territory with a victory. With so much time left, heads were held high.
A fire was ignited in the Moorpark offense for the second game in a row. The team rattled off an incredible 16-5 run in nine minutes of game time. The team had put themselves up 62-57 with 3:30 to go. Head coach Keith Higgins takes great pride in his team’s mental fortitude and ability to overcome deficits.
“We’re a special team, they’re doing special things here. We were down nearly the whole game and these dudes kept fighting,” Higgins said. “They never give up. You saw last game when we were down. we have a special attitude and I’m just so proud of these dudes. It’s crazy.”
The Bulldogs did not stack up an 18-game win streak for no reason. The visitors would muster their strength to tie the game up in the final minute and a half.
With the game on the line and the team needing a statement bucket, enter freshman Kenji Cooper. After scoring just two points in the first 38 minutes, the 6-foot-2 guard from Valor Academy pulled up from the three-point range and nailed a shot to put his team up three points with 1:20 left in the game. Cooper commented regarding his massive shot.
“I hadn’t really hit one all game. It’s bound to fall, you know, as people say, shooters keep shooting, so I’m going to keep shooting,” the game-winning shot shooter said. “I was just waiting for my time. [I] Stayed poised, stayed disciplined and we got the win.”
A combination of continued stifling defense and sophomore Jack Benyshek adding four more points to his game-high 26 would push the Raiders over the finish line. A final score of 72-65 indicated a redemptive win and sole possession of the No. 1 seed for the Raiders. Benyshek gave a peek inside his team’s mentality going forward after the game went final.
“I think we just have to keep being confident in ourselves and keep being the team that we are. We’re resilient. When we go down we don’t fold.” The starting guard spoke of trusting his coaches, saying, “Coach [Higgins] has us in a good system, so as long as we just follow what the coaches say and play our best, everything should just fall in line.”
Now in the driver’s seat with playoffs fast approaching, Moorpark will look to put a bow on their incredible season by closing out with wins against Oxnard at home and away at Cuesta College. Going 2-0 would guarantee the No. 1 spot heading into regional conference playoffs.
