Skelly Powers Cougars to Classic Win

Shane Skelly is one of the best baseball players his age in Southern California but last Thursday he showed he’s not too shabby on the basketball court either.

Skelly ran his team’s offense to perfection, scoring 10 points, dishing out six assists and getting seven steals to lead the Calvary Christian boys’ 8th-grade squad to a 44-27 victory over Pacific Basin League rival Brentwood in the second game of the school’s annual Cougar Classic.

Kenny Minchin led the Cougars (6-4) with 13 points, Haden Scheifele added eight, Blaze McKibbin had seven, Alex Knight had five and Timmy Ellis had one. Rounding out Calvary Christian’s team were Loyola Martin and Brendan Sanders.

Skelly’s steal and layup gave Calvary Christian an early 14-2 lead and the Cougars led 24-18 at halftime. The transition game was clicking on all cylinders and McKibbin’s layup off a pass from Skelly made it 31-19 late in the third quarter.

“What makes us good is playing as a team and working off each other,” said Minchin, who has attended Calvary Christian since kindergarten and will be going to Pacifica Christian next fall. “We’re at our best sharing the ball and working for the best shot.”

In the first game, the Cougars’ girls squad fell 20-18 when Evan Sheldon’s last-second jumper was  partially blocked at the buzzer.

Eloise Riley had six points, Gwendolyn Logan and Mandi Mikasa each had four and Sheldon and Abby Clark each added one basket for Calvary Christian (2-4), which led 16-14 going into the fourth quarter.

Rounding out the Cougars’ 6th through 8th-grade roster are Joy Williams, Charlotte Kuhner, Avery Bland, Olivia Clark, Olivia Smith, Faith Simab and Beatrice Zurowski. Olivia Peltz scored six points for the Eagles.

Calvary Christian inbounded the ball with 5.9 seconds left with a chance to win on a three-pointer or force overtime with two-points.

“The last play was supposed to go to me for a three-pointer, but it didn’t work the way we wanted,” Mikasa said. “I know some of their players. I dance with Olivia [Peltz] and I played in the National Charity League with Kelly [Tipton].