Bagpipers lead the Helix High School basketball teams into the gym for each home game.
The bagpipes are silent for the rest of this year’s San Diego Section winter sports playoffs after both Highlanders teams were eliminated in last weekend’s quarterfinal round.
The No. 11 Helix girls team, missing its top scorer suffered in a 59-47 first-round win at No. 6 Bonita Vista on Feb. 17, fell 60-43 at No. 3 Christian last Friday to end its season.
The boys team’s season ended in more excruciating fashion with a 52-50 double-overtime loss to No. 6 Patrick Henry at home on Saturday. The third-seeded Scotties saw a Grossmont Hills League championship season come abruptly to a 19-11 end after holding a 24-19 halftime lead.
The Lady Highlanders finished 10-15 while playing a challenging schedule.
Christian, which defeated No. 14 Mira Mesa, 49-27, in the opening round, advanced to Tuesday’s semifinal game at No. 2 Lincoln (12-12). The winner advances to Friday’s division championship game at 5 p.m. at Cal State San Marcos.
Christian (20-7) took a six-game winning streak into Tuesday’s game, including a 47-42 win over the Lady Hornets in league play on Feb. 12.
Leaders for the Lady Patriots on the season include sophomore Leah Speers (18 points per game), freshman Rebekah Montero (9.6 ppg) and senior Sierra Weckback (8.9 ppg). Weckback and junior Jazmyn Bugg were the team’s rebounding leaders at 8.1 and 7.6 per game, respectively.
Let’s hear it for the boys
The Patrick Henry-Helix boys came was just a classic high school game with physicality, speed, individual skill, team strategy, non-stop action and non-stop drama.
The Scotties had dropped a 66-60 non-league contest to the host Patriots on Jan. 7. Helix head coach Jason Cavazos said his team’s No. 1 objective was to stop senior center captain Alexander Newlands.
Towering above everyone on the court at 6-9 and 235-pounds, all Newlands had to do was reach up and grab balls off the tops of opponents’ heads and flick back-door passes into the bucket without leaving the floor. He was most especially dangerous on rebounds.
The Scotties did a good job defensively holding Newlands in check for the first half. But not for the whole game.
Newlands finished the contest with 10 points behind senior Isaac Weatherred (16 points) and junior Kymani Joseph (14 points). But his value was in other areas: he grabbed a team-high 17 rebounds and recorded five blocks.
Junior Donovan Bryant led Helix in the highlight reel matchup with 18 points while sophomore Trey Cavazos dropped in 17 points. Senior Jason Black had nine rebounds.
The hosts opened up a quick 11-5 lead but saw Patrick Henry claw back to go in front, 16-14, early in the second quarter. Back-to-back three-point shots put the Scotties back on top, 20-16 and a free-throw increased the lead to 22-17.
It was a dogfight from there.
The area under the basket at both ends was a war zone as players grappled for rebounds.
Few fans had seen a game unfold like this one. It was worthy of being on ESPN.
The Pats (20-10) went back in front, 28-17, with 1:09 remaining in the third quarter and extended their lead to 34-30 in the early moments of the fourth quarter.
Grossmont Hills League Player of the Year Cavazos came to the rescue to put the hosts back on top by scores of 35-34 and 41-39.
Regulation ended with the teams tied at 43.
The four-minute overtime started off favorable for Helix as junior Brian Hammerstrand sank a shot for a 45-43 lead. Black then made it 47-45 Highlanders.
But the Patriots proved just as scrappy. Weatherred made a steal and basket to slip the visitors ahead 49-47. Weatherred was at the free-throw line with a chance to ice the victory with one second on the clock but missed both shots to set up the younger Cavazos with the most pressure-packed episode in the game after the Highlanders were awarded two shots from the charity stripe on a technical foul.
Cavazos easily sank the first shot to draw the score to 49-48. His second shot hit the rim, bounced up and then down again for a 49-49 standoff.
There was both sighs relief and screams of joy from the Helix fans.
The game wasn’t over. A second overtime loomed. It was just as nerve-racking.
Helix took a 50-49 lead on a foul shot by Black. But Bryant missed a pair of shots that could have given the Scotties a three-point lead. Instead, Patrick Henry’s Weatherred remained the man of the moment with a pair of foul shots to put the visitors in front, 51-50. There was more cringe time at the line when Joseph promptly missed a pair of ensuing free-throws to leave the lead in doubt.
Make no mistake, the Highlanders had their chances in the final moments.
A series of three near-misses by the hosts — any one of which would have put them in front — set the stage for Weatherred, who finally dropped in a free-throw to give the Patriots a critical two-point lead with 10.2 seconds to play.
But the Highlanders had one more chance — and it almost went in.
A final shot hit the back of the rim and bounced to the side. The Patriots grabbed the rebound and the game — and season for the Scotties — was over.
It left the packed gym stunned.
Patrick Henry coach Kenny Caesar, who won a CIF title during his nine years at Mater Dei Catholic, called the game “exhausting.”
“Helix is a good team and well-coached,” said Caesar, now in his ninth year with the Patriots. “They played hard. Neither team wanted to lose. Neither team wanted to go home.”
Patrick Henry advanced to Tuesday’s semifinal at No. 2 Rancho Bernardo (18-12). The winner advances to Friday’s division final at 7:30 p.m. at Cal State San Marcos.
