A group of Caymanian basketball players recently took their California school to new heights.
Rueben Barnes, Maynor Brooks, Christopher Collins, Justin Nalty and Phillip Webb guided Santa Clarita Christian High School to a 21-8 record and deep playoff runs in local postseason tournaments. The group won its Heritage Basketball League and played in the finals of the 2014 California Interscholastic Federation Southern Section Boys Basketball Playoffs. In addition, the Cardinals would advance to the second round of the CIF State Division V playoffs. All of those achievements are firsts in school history.
Santa Clarita head coach James Mosley said he was happy to have the Caymanian players on his squad this year.
“We kept fighting and I was proud of that,” Mosley said. “But it was just a wonderful ride with these guys. They’re just a great group of kids and I’m thankful God brought them to me. I feel like we reached our potential. This is just a special group, I’m just happy for them.”
The young men, especially Webb, had starring roles in the team’s deep run. Webb led the squad in the CIF boys playoff final with nine points and 16 rebounds in a losing effort as Renaissance Academy of Altadena won, 58-32. In the first round of the state playoffs, Webb and Collins combined for 22 points and 24 rebounds in a 65-38 win over the Kern Valley Broncs. While the second round ended with a 63-48 loss to the View Park Knights, media reports point to Webb and Collins being key contributors.
Webb summed up his thoughts on the season after the defeat to View Park.
“We played hard as a team and had lots of energy,” Webb said. “It was a tough loss but we tried our best. Our coaches were great this year and we made school history. That’s pretty crazy.”
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