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For Dunbar, it’s gotta be the shoes
- Updated: November 29, 2018
Mount Miguel's MIKEECE DUNBAR lets a shot go on Wednesday night.
2018 EAST COUNTY PREP BOYS BASKETBALL
MOUNT MIGUEL 68, PATRICK HENRY 52.
By John Duran
Special to EastCountySports.com
Senior MARQUISE EDWARDS, of the Matadors, sets his play on Wednesday night.
SPRING VALLEY – A change in footwear put a spring in the shot of Mount Miguel senior forward Mikeece Dunbar against Patrick Henry on Wednesday night.
“(In the) first half, I was kind of struggling but I kept my head up,” Dunbar said. “(I was) still distributing the ball to my teammates but in the second half, I came into the locker room and switched shoes.
“I think it was the shoes, to be honest. It was the shoes.”
Dunbar, unable to make a single basket the first half, led the Matadors to victory after exploding for 14 points in the third quarter, including going 4-for-4 from beyond the arc, as Mount Miguel Matadors improved to 2-0 on the season after defeating the Patriots, 68-52.
“I’m a big factor on the team so if I didn’t show out it could have been a problem so I had to do what I had to do to keep this dub up,” Dunbar, a senior, said after the game.
Dunbar would finish with 17 points.
“He’s one of our best shooters, especially when he has a warm-up jumper, we have to get that consistency out of him,” Mount Miguel head coach Jay Rowlett said of Dunbar. “But I’m always thinking his next shot is going in.”
The new-look Matadors looked like a team learning to play together, especially on offense.
Mount Miguel managed only eight points the first quarter and went into halftime with a 22-18 lead. But that all changed once Dunbar put on the right pair on shoes.
This game, frustrating and a struggle at times for the Matadors, is one of those that a new team needs to go through in order to get better. Junior lockdown-defender Patrick Chima felt this game will only benefit the Matadors as they move forward.
“Our starters just stepped up. Mikeece in the second half started making his threes. Lawrence (Gray) stepped up when Marquise Edwards was in foul trouble,” Chima said. “It’s very important because we know it’s going to help us in the long run.”
Chima, a junior, scored three points, but his real value comes on the defensive end. His defense was a major reason why the Patriots struggled to get anything going.
When asked why he is so successful on defense, Chima laughed and simply said, “I like defense. Lock down their best player. That’s what I do.”
The Matadors will take on Mira Mesa Friday night at home with the hopes of moving to 3-0.
Expect Dunbar to have a big game.
When asked which shoes he plans on wearing against the Marauders, Dunbar said without hesitation, “Same shoes that I wore (in the) the second half.”
Leading scorers:
Marquise Edwards 23 points
Lawrence Gray 23 points
Mikeece Dunbar 17 points
