By Judd Liebman

Coming off a three game slump, the boys’ basketball team decisively defeated Beckman 72-50 to move in to the second round of Division 3A CIF playoffs. The team’s next game is Friday at Brea Olinda, who defeated San Jacinto 50-47 last night. 

The Wolverines were only up by one after the first eight minutes of play, but strong defense down low helped them jump out to a 36-27 halftime lead.   

Guard Nick Firestone ’11, coming off an ACL injury, made his second start of the season for the Wolverines tonight and hit two of four from downtown, amounting to his six points on the night.   

The Wolverines’ first quarter start was a little slow, but once warmed up, the offense was flowing well, Head Coach Greg Hilliard said.  

A big size advantage helped the Wolverines down low. With Jordan Butler ’11 (10 assists) feeding the ball to the big men, forward Damiene Cain ’11 had 16 points, 14 rebounds, and four blocks, and center Zena Edosomwan ’12 had 13 points and eight rebounds.   

Hilliard was happy with the victory, but thinks his team’s execution could have been better.  

“Execution was less than perfect,” he said. “It’s promising that our subs came in to the game with less fear and played with more confidence.”  

Josh Hearlihy shot 82 percent on the night and led all Wolverine scorers with 20 points; he also had five assists.