Broken dreams

A night meant for celebration turned into complete frustration for the Calabasas boys’ basketball team as the No. 2 seeded Coyotes fell in the Southern Section Div. II-A semifinals to the Colony Titans, 65-62, dashing the squad’s long-held hopes for another crack at the program’s first CIF title.

Hindered by the inability to keep the athletic Titans off the offensive glass, Calabasas allowed an unbearable 24 second-chance points, and simply could not hold off a late second-half run that ultimately gave Colony the game.

"I think their athleticism was the determining factor," CHS head coach Russell White said. "We couldn’t keep them in front of us and we couldn’t get rebounds. In the fourth their athleticism really came to the forefront and we couldn’t compete with them athletically."

After holding commanding leads of 10 points or more in both the second and third quarters, Calabasas finally started to succumb to Colony’s up-tempo, full-court press late in the fourth when it mattered most.

HEARTBREAK-Above, senior guard Shayaun Saee reacts to his team's last-second loss to Colony in the Div. II-A semifinals, a game played at Westlake High School. Despite leading throughout most of the contest, Calabasas failed to hold off a last-minute charge by the Titans that gave them the ball game. Left, Conrad Fitzgerald soars over a Colony to score a basket in the third quarter.

Two turnovers in the game’s final minute and a half finally did the Coyotes in. Colony’s Brandon Davis capitalized on the first and put back his own miss for the game’s go-ahead score, 62-61. Davis, the Titans’ best-all around player, finished with a game-high 27.

"That’s what I’ve told people all year long," said Colony head coach Jerry De Fabiis. "A lot of teams can play with us for three quarters, but it’s very hard to play with us for four. Our guys keep going and never stop until that final whistle."

Marmonte League MVP Drew Housman ended his decorated career as a Coyote with 16 points, seven assists and five rebounds. Effective early, Housman went cold in the second half, hitting just 1-of-7 shots and finishing with only three points.

"Drew didn’t shoot the ball very well, but that was an indirect result of their athleticism," White said. "They were able to contest his shots. He’d get by the first guy, the second guy, but then the third guy would be there. They were making it tougher for him and the shots just weren’t dropping."

Seniors Daniel Gabler and Shayuan Saee also ended their prep careers with gallant performances. Gabler was the star of the first half, going 3-out-of-4 from three-point range and giving the Coyotes the offensive spark they needed early. Finishing with nine points, he too went cold in the second half.

Saee, the team’s emotional leader, came up big for the Coyotes on the glass, grabbing seven critical boards—second on the night only to Conrad Fitzgerald, who had 12 rebounds.

Fitzgerald, along with fellow juniors Mark Einhorn and Redmond Parker, demonstrated with their play that CHS still has a positive future. Einhorn almost single-handily won the Coyotes the game late, scoring six points and grabbing three rebounds in the fast and furious fourth.

Despite his obvious disappointment, Harvard-bound Housman said the seniors, who this season helped capture the program’s first ever Marmonte League title, still have a lot to be proud of.

"All the seniors had a great career, we gave it our all and I’m proud of all of us," he said.