Boys Hoops: Muir Crushes Oxford Academy in playoff opener

The Muir boys basketball team wasted little time in dispatching Oxford Academy in the first round of the CIF-Southern Section 5AA playoffs.

The Mustangs’ full-court press and lightning-quick transition game earned them a 66-38 victory on Wednesday at Muir.

“We played hard and that’s what we emphasize no matter who we’re up against,” Muir coach Dr. Gamal Smalley said. 

Third-seeded Muir was matched up against a team that finished the year 7-15 and earned an at-large berth from the Academy League.

After a close first quarter, the Mustangs broke the game open by outscoring the Patriots 18-4 in the second period. Muir used a full-court, man-to-man press to disrupt Oxford Academy’s offense. That led to easy buckets for the Mustangs.

When Muir didn’t run and gun, it dominated down low with the play of forward Taturs Mayberry. The 6-foot-4 sophomore finished with 19 points, nine rebounds, one blocked shot and one steal. Mayberry went 9-for-14 from the field.

In the first half, Mayberry scored eight points and grabbed four rebounds. He bullied the Patriots some more in the second half, turning a 17-point halftime lead into a margin that grew as wide as 31.

“It felt good,” Mayberry said. “The coaches told me to get the ball in the post. They said I had to get it done in the post.”

Guard Dion Nelson scored 18 points and nabbed four boards. Nelson knocked down four buckets from behind the arc. He also helped harass the Patriots’ backcourt.

“We played hard and with a lot of energy,” Nelson said. “We just brought the intensity. We started the game kind of slow. The bench came in and picked it up. When coach brought the starters back in, we brought the pressure.”

Jelani Mitchell added 15 points and four rebounds. Maurice Ballard came off the bench to score eight points. Freshman guard Brian Carrier grabbed six rebounds, while senior guard Justin Knowles had four rebounds and three steals.

“We tried to slow them down with a little bit of zone but when you fall behind you have to come out of it and create some pressure,” Oxford Academy coach Andrew Scimeca said. “Their length and quickness gave us a problem in the first half and we weren’t able to recover after that.”

Said Smalley: “I thought our man-to-man full court press turned the game around. They attacked our zone really well. In the second quarter, the man-to-man defense was the difference.”

The Patriots’ leading scorer this season was Amer El-hariri. The senior guard played the entire game and finished with 13 points and five rebounds.

The Mustangs snapped a three-game losing streak and look forward to the next round.

“We didn’t put too much emphasis on the losing streak,” Smalley said. “Since we’re so young we look at it like a growing experience. And here we are. We won the first game, but now we have to put it behind us and get ready for the second round.”

Muir (15-10)  will play the winner of Western Christian and Kern Valley on Friday in the second round.