In their season opener, the Grossmont men’s basketball team gave it their all against Cypress College, in a 75 to 54 loss.
The Griffins started out strong, however, getting the first points of the game. After going on a seven-to-nothing run, Grossmont’s Thomas Metcalf (0) fouled a Cypress player, putting him at the line, where he made both free throws. After steady scoring throughout the half, Cypress took the lead 12-9. After that, the Chargers held on for the rest of the game.
Despite this, there were signs of potential. Out of reserve players, Elijah Williams (4) was the ironman of the game. Williams had 24 minutes off the bench, along with five points, four rebounds, a block, a steal and an assist. Out of the starting lineup, the three best performers were Brandon Tully (24), Amari Leflore (5) and Tyrone Lester (10). Lester put on a show, getting five rebounds including four on defense, while scoring nine points, and also getting a block, a steal and an assist.
A product of Patrick Henry High School, Lester was optimistic about playing with other local talent, but also said he doesn’t think it should be a main focus.
“In my opinion, I don’t think it’s important,” Lester said. “Private schools or local schools, it doesn’t matter. As long as we just work hard in the summertime and we just become a good team and stay competitive, that’s all that matters.”
In spite of the rocky start to the season, Grossmont’s assistant coach James Hyneman seems hopeful for a successful season.
“They did a lot of good things, because they’re well-coached,” he said. “We had opening game jitters, (when we) really got past that it was a little too late to make that move. But there were still some positive voices for us as a coaching staff.”
Hyneman concurred with Tyrone on the prospect of playing with local talent.
“It’s nice to see that we’re getting that type of attention from the local community players at the high school following us with what they see,” the coach said. “Grossmont will provide them with the level of education they need to move on. We will also try to get them what they need hopefully to move on and play basketball.”
The Griffins will take part in the Gene Victor Memorial Classic at Mt. San Antonio College in Walnut, California, over the Veterans Day Weekend, before coming home Nov. 21 to play LA Harbor, followed by Santa Ana Nov. 28.
