Warriors begin winning boys basketball games

Joe Naiman

Village News Reporter

Fallbrook High School’s basketball team began the 2021-22 season with four consecutive losses, but the Warriors won their first game of the season Dec. 6 and then won their next two games Dec. 7 and Dec. 9.

“It was a good week,” said Fallbrook coach Jonathan Terry. “It was a nice turnaround from the first four games.”

The Warriors began practice Nov. 6, but several of the players are also on the Fallbrook High School football team whose season didn’t end until a Nov. 19 loss in the CIF Division V semifinal. “We had almost two different teams,” Terry said.

A 63-59 loss Nov. 15 at Fairmont, which is a K-12 school in San Juan Capistrano, opened Fallbrook’s season. The Warriors then hosted Murrieta Valley in a Nov. 16 match which ended as a 107-25 Nighthawks win. Fallbrook traveled to St. Margaret’s for a Nov. 20 contest but lost by an 88-38 margin. A Nov. 23 trip to Pacific Ridge was a 63-51 Firebirds victory.

The football players had one day of basketball practice prior to the Nov. 23 game but can now focus on the winter sport. “They’re all starting to bond and play for each other,” Terry said.

“The team chemistry is getting better,” Terry said. “We’re moving forward.”

Fallbrook’s Dec. 6 game was at Classical Academy. After outscoring the Caimans by a 17-12 margin in the first period, Fallbrook had a 20-2 scoring advantage in the second quarter. The Warriors also outscored Classical Academy in each of the final two periods of the 67-32 game.

“I think that was a good win for us at a perfect time,” Terry said.

Eleven different Fallbrook players scored points. “Everybody got a chance to participate and everyone got a chance to contribute,” Terry said.

Three Warriors scored in double figures: senior Charlie Stallings led the team with 13 points while senior Humberto Rivera and junior Marcus Washington each had 10 points. Ten different players grabbed rebounds for Fallbrook with Stallings pulling down nine and junior Reese Holmes recording eight boards. Washington led the team with five steals.

The first quarter of Fallbrook’s Dec. 7 game at Tri-City Christian ended with a 23-11 Warriors lead. The Eagles scored seven of the nine points in the second period, but Fallbrook had an 18-8 advantage in the third quarter. The 43-26 lead allowed the Warriors to focus on ball control and clock management in the fourth period, and Terry was also able to rest starters while the Eagles had to focus on catching up. Tri-City Christian’s 14-5 scoring advantage in the fourth quarter wasn’t enough to stave off the 48-40 Fallbrook victory.

“Well-coached team. They played hard,” Terry said of the Eagles. “That game was challenging. They made us make a lot of adjustments in the second half.”

Nine different Fallbrook players scored. Stallings led the team with 11 points followed by junior Kaleb Collings placing shots worth seven points into the nets. Stallings had nine of the team’s 31 rebounds while Washington pulled down eight. Marcus Washington, who is a junior, led the team with five assists and with four steals while Stallings had three assists and three steals. Stallings, Marquise Washington, and senior Mitchell Baker had three deflections apiece while Stallings blocked two shots.

“Just a great team and not one individual person,” Terry said of the game.

Fallbrook’s second home game of the season Dec. 9 was against Kearny. “That was a challenging game,” Terry said. “Those guys played our team really hard and it took until the fourth quarter to pull through.”

A 12-0 run in the fourth quarter contributed to the 59-41 Fallbrook triumph. “We were pretty excited to play well in front of our home fans,” Terry said.

Ten different Fallbrook players scored. Stallings’ 20 points included three successful shots from behind the three-point arc. Holmes and Marcus Washington each contributed eight points. The Warriors’ 43 rebounds included 11 from Stallings, nine by Holmes, and seven from Marcus Washington. Stallings also led the team with three assists. Marcus Washington had five deflections, and Marcus Washington and Marquise Washington obtained three steals apiece.

“The team is really buying into our philosophy,” Terry said.

“They’re bonding together,” Terry said. “They spend a lot of time communicating with each other, getting to know each other.”

Terry noted that players on the bench are cheering for the other players who have offensive or defensive success. “That’s the team culture that I want to create,” he said.

“They’re accepting our coaching style,” Terry said. “We’re starting to see the results of that. They’re starting to buy into what we’re teaching them.”