Dragons find their footing after winning four of last five games
Following Tuesday night’s 51-46 comeback victory over Lawson, the Cameron High School Dragon Basketball Team achieved its first three-game win streak since 2018.
Only one month into the season, the Dragons seemed to finally hit their stride Tuesday - focusing on working the paint on offense while running an aggressive man-to-man defense making timely, smart fouls and turnovers at crucial points in Tuesday night’s contest.
“We were taking too many contested and rushed threes early. I just said ‘it doesn’t matter if it’s man or zone, attack the rim. Let’s start getting the ball to the rim.’ We did that. We started hitting some shots and got on a bit of a roll,” said Cameron coach Mark Gordon, who could match the 2019-2020 Dragons in wins within the next few weeks with his current team boasting a 4-3 winning record so far.
After trailing by 16-8 early in the second quarter, the Dragons went on a 10-2 run with senior guard Ian Riley capping it off on a jump shot from outside the paint for the final lead exchange of the night. Lawson made it contentious, but with three Cameron players reaching double digits in scoring - including a team-leading, 15-point performance by sophomore guard Thomas Robinson - the Dragons had too many weapons for the Cardinals to defend.
“I was just trying to control the ball, look for the open shots and play as a team. We hit a couple of shots, kept the momentum up and got rolling,” Robinson said.
The Cameron defense was equally impressive Tuesday night. Despite being significantly oversized underneath, the Dragons limited Cardinal second-chance opportunities. After struggling to maintain an aggressive, full-court press in 2019-2020, Cameron implemented it to near perfection on some drives and matched Lawson’s aggressive tendencies.
Late in the fourth quarter, Cameron seemed to pump the brakes a bit early and Lawson took advantage to narrow the Dragons lead to 47-44. With Cameron already in the bonus, and hitting 10 of 13 from the free-throw line, hopes of a Lawson victory dwindled with each passing second. Junior forward Ty Speer stretched the lead after bombing an inbound pass to sophomore T.J. Best to make it 49-46, then hit a pair of free-throws to seal the victory.
“We’ve grown by leaps and bounds. We still have a lot of growing to do, but we’re getting better day after day. I’m most proud of the fact it’s a different person (each game),” Gordon said. “Nobody is worried about who’s scoring. We’re just worried about winning. Some nights Ty will score big. Tonight, it was Thomas. All five [starters] have been in double figures this year and that’s what’s exciting for me.”
