The562’s coverage of Cabrillo Athletics is sponsored by the Cohn Family.
Consistent intensity helped Cabrillo boys’ basketball get above .500 by beating Anaheim 73-51 at home on Tuesday night.
That superior effort and energy was sparked by guard Deshon McMiller, who scored a game-high 24 points to go with a handful of assists.
“It plays a big role in my leadership ability, so my energy and what I do dictates how the team plays,” McMiller said. “Last year we were the team that was getting (beat) like this and we don’t want that feeling anymore so we have to be the team to give it.”
Junior Chad Washington chipped in 19 points for the Jaguars (4-3) while guards Jeremy Siquig and Kevin Brim both scored 10 points.
Cabrillo jumped out to an early lead and maintained a double-digit advantage while getting the entire Jaguars squad playing time.
“I thought we played really hard,” Cabrillo first-year coach Chris Spencer said. “We had guys flying around and they really wanted to play. The energy level didn’t drop.”
McMiller’s steal and score was the first bucket of the game, and he also found Washington and Siquig for multiple open looks in the early going. Cabrillo led 42-24 at halftime.
“Whenever you have (McMiller) you have a chance at winning,” Spencer said. “He’s just tough and he’s my type of guy. It may not always be pretty but it’s just tough. His level of toughness makes guys want to play with him. Any time you have your best guy diving on the floor it’s going to be contagious.”
Anaheim (0-3) got a team-high 19 points from Isiah Bouigoin.
Cabrillo continues non-league play at home against Castaic Wednesday night. Moore League play begins Dec. 14.
