San Joaquin Memorial head coach Brad Roznovsky kept it real at halftime Tuesday, with his state-ranked Panthers trailing by 17 points.
“He said that we were embarrassing ourselves,” said Memorial junior Joseph Hunter, “which we were.”
Hunter played a big role in Memorial’s second-half comeback against Clovis North, scoring 17 of his game-high 26 points after halftime to guide the Panthers to a 74-68 victory over the Broncos.
San Joaquin Memorial (3-1) overcame a slow start that saw Clovis North (5-1) build up a 43-26 lead at halftime. Roznovsky said he believed the Panthers’ previous game — a loss at Clovis West — would have inspired the team in their first half Tuesday.
Instead, the Panthers played sloppy basketball, which included turnovers, missed layups, and a pair of missed dunks.
“We play like we did in the first half, it’ll be a quick exit from the playoffs,” Roznovsky said. “We were really upset defensively. [Clovis North] really shot the ball well and part of that was because of no energy or effort on our end.”
Another part of it was the mid-range shooting game of Clovis North senior AK Okereke. The 6-foot-7 forward connected on his jump shots, drove inside the paint for layups and leaped for putbacks, leading the Broncos’ effort with 15 first-half points.
He finished with a team-high 20 points on the night, but Clovis North head coach Tony Amundsen said that Okereke showed himself as more than a scorer on Tuesday.
“He pretty much dominates all the stat categories,” Amundsen said. “He’s a good passer, he has a lot of assists and rebounds, and he plays from outside, inside or mid-range.”
Okereke’s all-around skillset helped the Broncos maintain a large first-half lead over a long, athletic Panthers team.
But a key second-half adjustment made the difference Tuesday — a mental one.
“It was about energy,” Hunter said. “In the first half, we were playing slow and laggy, but in the second half, we started off with a pump. We got [Clovis North] back and they couldn’t come back from it.”
Hunter provided a big dose of energy with a two-handed slam dunk early in the third quarter, as part of Memorial’s 11-2 run right out of halftime.
San Joaquin Memorial cut its deficit to 59-52 after the third quarter and tied the contest at 62 with 4:33 remaining.
Hunter then drained a 3-pointer to give the Panthers their first lead since 14-12 midway through the first quarter.
Mike Davis Jr. scored on San Joaquin Memorial’s next possession, receiving a pass inside the paint and making a layup while drawing a foul. The three-point play put the Panthers in control with 3:43 to play, leading Clovis North 68-63.
The Panthers’ lead never dipped below four. Their defense made multiple stops down the stretch to hold on for the win.
“They got physical with us and they turned up the pressure,” Amundsen said, “and we didn’t handle it well.”
Davis Jr. finished second in scoring for the Panthers with 17 points and played physical in the paint, either boxing out or defending. Freshman Connor Amundsen scored 10 of his 12 points in the first half; his final total was the second-most for the Broncos.
Clovis North hosts Hoover on Thursday, while San Joaquin Memorial travels to Clovis East on Friday.