Spirited Rivalry Renewed in Cougar Classic

School pride was at stake when Calvary Christian’s boys and girls basketball teams hosted Corpus Christi in last Thursday’s Cougar Classic.

The spirited crosstown rivalry produced two exciting games and when all was said and done both sides had reason to celebrate.

In the girls game, Corpus Christi seventh-grader Marissa Lomis put on a show, scoring 21 points in the Wildcats’ 32-19 comeback win. The teams had met Dec. 12 at Corpus Christi and the Cougars escaped with a 42-40 victory. Lomis scored more than half of her points on transition layups, a product of hours upon hours of drills.

“We work on layup lines at every practice,” said Lomis, who has attended Corpus since kindergarten. “I’m really good friends with that team.”

Cate Rozelle added seven points and 17 rebounds, fellow eight-grader Bella Greco hit a shot at the buzzer and seventh-grader Ryann Mackston had two points for the Wildcats, who overcame a 17-10 halftime deficit. Rounding out Corpus  Christi’s  squad were seventh-graders Brigita Gedgaudas, Sally Dietsch, Chloe Beardmore  (five assists) and Sophie Sewell.

Leading the Cougars’ attack were eighth-grade point guard Malia Verge (eight points) and seventh-graders Mandi Mikasa (seven points and seven rebounds) and Evan Sheldon (four points). Joining them on the squad were sixth-graders Sierra Geisler, Charlotte Kuhner and Christine Shimihara, seventh-graders Gwynn Logan, Caroline Jacobs, and Beatrice Zurowski and eighth-graders Vanessa Clark and Ilaria Stewart.

“I know a lot of their players well,” Mikasa said. “I played on Marissa’s team at the Rec Center one time, I’ve played against her a few times and  Chloe [Beardmore] and Sophie [Sewell] are on my club volleyball team (the Westside Warriors).”

After a short break the boys teams took the floor and just as Lomis dominated the early game, the nightcap was a showcase for Calvary Christian’s Matt Kern, who scored 16 of his 23 points in the second half of the Cougars’ 64-46 win.

“I’ve come in second in the Rec Center League three times,” said Kern, who wants to go to Viewpoint. “This is a fun game because we all know each other. The post is where I like to be. It’s fun to get a block and stop somebody.”

Fellow captain Rip Economou added 16 points, Eli Deroon had eight, Jeff Stuart had six, Spencer Rawnsley had three and James Conlon had two for Calvary Christian’s all-eighth grade squad, which also included Drew Daniele, Alex Lee, Alex Strohmeier, Scott Stuart, Colin Flintoft, Jon Ennis, Colum Yeh, Matt Grinsfelder and Shane Thesman.

The Cougars, who beat host Corpus Christi by six points in the teams’ previous encounter, built a 30-22 halftime lead.

Eighth-grader Jimmy McGinnis scored eight points in the second half alone for the Wildcats, who narrowed their deficit to six points going into the fourth quarter thanks to seven third-quarter points by seventh-grader Andrew Arth. Rounding out the Corpus Christi  roster were eighth-graders Finn Bradley, Jake Dennis, Dillon Malaret and Sinjin Smith and  seventh-graders Nick Massey, Dominic Masi, Zander Hurley and James Keefe.