MJ Smith’s defensive performance for the Hornets leads to an 84-69 victory over Irvine Valley, at the Hornets Nest, on Feb. 20. The Hornets won their 23rd game in a row and finished undefeated in conference play at 16-0. It was a rough start for Fullerton on Sophomore night, as they allowed the Lasers to maintain contact through the first six minutes of the game.
As Irvine Valley ran a Princeton-style offense of backdoor cutting, their opponents, while screening for each other off the ball, tried to get good shots at the basket. The first two baskets they made to start the game were from Matt Mowers for three. That came off of pick-and-pop and passing the ball around the perimeter, while coming off of screens. Head Coach Perry Webster was not pleased with the team’s overall performance, especially the start.
“I think we played like we’re looking forward to the playoffs starting next week, and I don’t think that we necessarily played with enough force and enough focus and energy tonight,” said Webster. “Kudos to our guys for bearing down and figuring it out.”
At the 13-minute mark of the first half, with Fullerton leading 12-8, Webster put in MJ Smith to provide a much-needed lockdown defender on the perimeter. Coming out of the timeout, Webster decided to go with a three-quarter court trap to slow down the Lasers. Fullerton’s Jaqari Miles and Smith trapped Irvine Valley’s Santos Cordero past the half-court line.
Smith stripped the ball from Cordero, which led to a fast break opportunity. Smith made a go-ahead pass to Miles at the wing for a three to extend the lead to 15-8.
Four possessions later, the Lasers thought they had another easy layup on a backdoor cut. Smith was able to recover and use his athleticism to block Cordero’s shot from behind. As a result, Irvine Valley was unable to get a shot off at the rim, leading to a shot-clock violation.
“We prepared all week, and we knew they were a savvy team. They back cut. They’re really disciplined on offense, and they make the right play a lot of the time. We were giving up back doors, giving up easy plays, easy layups,” said Smith. “We came together as a team, and we knew we had to put an end to it.”
At the 5:30 mark of the first half, with Fullerton leading 34-26, Smith showed off his wingspan. The Hornets defense was out of rotation, as Irvine Valley was trying to dribble-drive and kick it out to an open three-point shooter.
The Lasers Cordero took the open shot, but out of nowhere came Smith to swat the ball out of bounds. Irvine Valley came out of it with an empty possession, as they missed a mid-range jumper.
“[Smith] was really sick yesterday. He didn’t even come to practice. I woke up this morning not knowing if he was gonna play or not. He’s just a really good player. He does a lot of different things on the floor,” said Webster. “For him to be a true freshman and to be such a great defensive player, such a great rebounder, such a versatile offensive player. He’ll be an all-state player, probably as a sophomore.”
Smith provided a little bit of offense as well. In the second half, with Fullerton leading 61-49, Donovan Pitts took his man off the dribble. Pitts missed the layup attempt, but MJ Smith was in the right spot, as no one boxed him out.
Smith came from the top of the key and stood in the middle of the paint, waiting for the ball to come off the rim. As the ball cleared the rim, MJ Smith timed his jump perfectly to tip it back in to make the score 63-49, with 7:08 left in the game.
On the next offensive possession, Jonas Hanson missed his free-throw attempt on a 3-point play, but Smith secured the rebound after it deflected off of Pitt’s hands and two Irvine Valley players. He was able to capitalize on the opportunity, as he drove baseline past Lasers guard Nate Tuttle for a reverse layup, to give the Hornets a 65-51 lead.
“He’s good on and off the court. He brings life to our team, a spark off the bench that every team needs, and I’m so thankful that he’s a Hornet with me,” said Pitts.
While Smith was exceptional on defense, Pitts led a balanced offense, finishing with 20 points. Pitts got to the basket at will. After six points at the intermission, Pitts put on a show with his dribble drives. With Fullerton up 44-34, ninety seconds into the half, Pitts took his man off the dribble, with no resistance at the rim, as he used his speed to blow by his defender for a layup.
On the next possession, Pitts took a pass from Jaedyn Patterson and drove past his defender along the baseline for a layup. Pitts took control of the game in the final three minutes, as he stole a pass from Irvine Valley’s Anderson Hatch in the backcourt. He finished off the play with a layup to make it 75-61. He drove straight down the lane and pulled up in-the-paint for a running floater.
“In the first half, I was kind of hesitant and not really taking the best shots, but in the second half, I really dialed in, tried to finish off to get to the basket, not really forcing anything, and that unselfishness led to a good night for me,” said Pitts.
He made the final field goal of the game with another floater in the lane to make it 82-65. Irvine Valley’s Ahmad Alhammouri nailed a wing three to make it 82-68. Patterson made two free throws to make it 84-68. Lasers guard Yanis Aldeguer made one of two at the free throw line to finish off the final tally of 84-69.
The basketball team is ready to focus on the postseason, as they look to bring home another state title back to Fullerton. Even with a number one ranking beside their name, Webster knows there are still some things they need to work on before the playoffs begin.
“We got to get back to our defensive fundamentals. I’ve probably not done a good enough job recently of focusing on that. When we get back to practice this week, we gotta shore up our defensive fundamentals and get ourselves back defending the way we’re capable of,” said Webster.
