The Sweetwater High School boys basketball program honored more of its own during last Saturday’s Hall of Fame contest against the visiting Monte Vista Monarchs.
The Red Devils didn’t win on the court (more on that in a bit) but did score points with the induction of this year’s class of four individuals.
Larry Willson and Mahlon Williams both played on the 1985 CIF semifinalist SuHi squad. Both called it an honor to be inducted into the program’s Hall of Fame.
“What I remember the most about my days at Sweetwater was the tradition surrounding the program,” said Willson, a 1985 graduate of the National City school.
Williams, a 1987 grad, echoed that.
“I remember the gym being packed, I remember people always talking about the program, I remember alumni coming back to watch us play,” Williams said. “When you put on that Sweetwater jersey, you knew you had big shoes to fill.”
Joining Willson and Williams in this year’s Hall of Fame class are Joe McDowell (1990) and the late Calvin Murrell (1981).
McDowell was a member of the Red Devils’ 1990 San Diego Section Division I championship team and selected as Metro Player of the Year.
The 1984-85 SuHi team finished 27-4, with Willson earning Metro Player of the Year honors.
The four newest Hall of Fame inductees were introduced during halftime and presented with a personalized plaque by current head coach Jesse Aguirre.
Murrell’s wife and children accepted on his behalf.
National City Mayor Ron Morrison took in the proceedings with interest.
Aguirre said he was impressed that some of the Hall of Famers traveled from out of state to attend the ceremony.
“It was great to see all those families again — people I hadn’t seen in a while,” Aguirre said. “It brought back a lot of memories.”
The game itself will spark memories for some time to come; it had a memorable ending, but not one that caused fans to flood the court at the final horn.
Let’s say the present Red Devil team learned the importance of shooting free throws in practice.
Sweetwater, off to a 5-0 start in South Bay League play, entered last Saturday’s game against the Monarchs with a 10-8 overall record. The Devils were underdogs to the visitors, who sported a rather impressive 15-7 overall record.
As in many cases, the underdog team was inspired to pull off an upset. The ending, however, proved upsetting to the home team in its 43-42 setback.
“We want to be in position to win games and we were in a position to win this game, but it didn’t work out,” Aguirre said.
A quick replay:
The hosts played two sophomores and two freshmen in the lineup for major parts of the game. With a youthful lineup, some hiccups are to be expected … as well as some flashes of brilliance.
Monte Vista quickly got off to a 9-3 start. But the Devils seemed to get their footing and, in the blink of an eye, had trimmed the Monarch lead to 9-7 and later 15-11.
A bucket by sophomore guard Ariene Velasco put Sweetwater up 18-17 in the second quarter and a deuce from senior point guard Neilryan Pangilinan upped the SuHi lead to 20-17.
But a run of seven points to end the quarter — a put-back by Sahbir Watson, a layup by Amir Conley and a bucket and foul shot by Jordan Bramer — put the Monarchs up 28-22 at halftime.
The Devils roared with 10 unanswered points to start the second half to lead 32-28. Pangilinan led the charge with eight of those points.
But the visitors rebounded to take a 34-32 lead into the fourth quarter.
This is where the hosts crumbled at the free throw line and saw a potential victory slip from their grasp.
Sweetwater missed eight free throws in the final quarter — each one proving pivotal in the outcome of the game.
A pair of shots from the charity stripe by freshman C.J. McMillan did reward the Devils with a 34-34 tie. But the visitors were quick to builds leads of 39-34 and 41-36.
A put-back by Sweetwater senior Rugene Williams made the score 41-38 and freshman Jimmy Mattox made it a 41-40 game with 30 seconds to play.
A clutch bucket by Pangilinan with 1:18 left capped a six-point run to put Sweetwater ahead 42-41.
The home crowd was roaring. It appeared the Devils were poised to deliver an inspirational win for the alumni in attendance.
But the hosts couldn’t put it away. Sweetwater missed four consecutive free throw attempts to squander a golden opportunity to steal the win.
Monte Vista’s Demarcus McKan hit with 10 seconds left to give the lead back to the Monarchs at 43-42.
It came down to one final play for the hosts — an inbounds play with 3.9 seconds left on the clock.
But Sweetwater couldn’t get a shot off as the Monarchs somehow wound up with the ball to run out the clock.
Aguirre admitted after the game that the pressure situation was a learning experience for his young team.
“It was a big night for them — maybe too hyper for them,” the SuHi head coach noted.
It was a memorable ending, no question.
Pangilinan led Sweetwater with 20 points, followed by Mattox with six points and McMillan with four points. McMillan leads the Devils with a 19.5 scoring average.
McKan had 14 points for Monte Vista while Conley added 11 points.
The Monarchs improved to 17-7 following Tuesday’s 43-40 Grossmont Valley League win against visiting Santana.
The Red Devils will attempt to get back on the winning track when they host Mar Vista on Friday, Feb. 2, in a South Bay League matchup. Tip off is 6 p.m.
Metro Conference
Boys Basketball Standings
South Bay League
(Through Jan. 31)
League/Overall
Sweetwater Red Devils 5-0, 10-0
Hilltop Lancers 4-1, 6-14
Southwest Raiders 3-2, 10-11
Chula Vista Spartans 2-3, 7-15
Castle Park Trojans 1-4, 1-16
Mar Vista Mariners 0-5, 4-15
Friday, Feb. 2
Mar Vista at Sweetwater, 6 p.m.
Castle Park at Hilltop, 6 p.m.
Southwest at Chula Vista, 6 p.m.
Mesa League
(Through Jan. 31)
League/Overall
Mater Dei Catholic Crusaders 7-0, 18-6
Montgomery Aztecs 7-1, 18-4
Eastlake Titans 5-3, 13-11
Otay Ranch Mustangs 4-4, 14-8
Olympian Eagles, 2-5, 13-9
Bonita Vista 2-6, 15-11
San Ysidro Cougars 0-8, 7-19
Wednesday, Jan. 31
Montgomery 66, Otay Ranch 63
Mater Dei Catholic 55, Bonita Vista 36
Eastlake 66, San Ysidro 44
Friday, Feb. 2
Bonita Vista at Montgomery, 6 p.m.
Mater Dei Catholic at Otay Ranch, 6 p.m.
Olympian at San Ysidro, 6:30 p.m.
Metro Conference
Girls Basketball Standings
Mesa League
(Through Jan. 31)
League/Overall
Bonita Vista Lady Barons 7-1, 19-6
Eastlake Lady Titans 5-2, 15-5
Olympian Lady Eagles 4-3, 11-9
Mater Dei Lady Crusaders 4-3, 11-10
Montgomery Lady Aztecs 4-4, 13-7
Otay Ranch Lady Mustangs 2-6, 13-10
Hilltop Lady Lancers 0-7, 5-14
Wednesday, Jan. 31
Montgomery 52, Otay Ranch 50
Friday, Feb. 2
Montgomery at Bonita Vista, 6 p.m.
Otay Ranch at Mater Dei Catholic, 6 p.m.
Hilltop at Olympian, 6 p.m.
South Bay League
(Through Jan. 31)
League/Overall
Castle Park Lady Trojans 4-1, 9-9
Chula Vista Lady Spartans 4-1, 11-9
Mar Vista Lady Mariners 4-1, 15-5
Sweetwater Lady Red Devils 2-3 7-8
San Ysidro Lady Cougars 1-4, 2-12
Southwest lady Raiders 0-5, 0-14
