BOYS BASKETBALL NARROWLY DROPS SEASON DEBUT

November 18, 2025

Written by Brad Peters

FULLERTON: Playing in the Rumble on the Hill Tournament, the Wolves traveled to the hardwood of Troy High School in Fullerton on Monday afternoon. It was the official start to the 2025-26 season and the debut of Head Coach Darius Durham.

The boys played well and were in command throughout the game before finally succumbing to the Leuzinger High Olympians strong play and dropped the opener, 60-64.

Josh Ajayi led the way for MLK with 28 points. Mark Cadena had a great game at the boards, rebounding well throughout. “Mark had a tremendous effort,” Durham said after the game.

But with 3 minutes to play in the game, the Olympians hit from beyond the 3-point line not once, but twice while drawing King fouls both time. That sent them to the stripe where they made all six of the free throws.

“Disappointed,” confessed Durham, “we had control of the game for a large amount of the second half.” The heartbreaking ending will give the boys a lesson that Durham hopes they’ll learn from.

“We need to learn how to close games. Minimize mistakes and execute late in the game,” the coach said.

For the team, they’ll need to keep their head up after the loss. The season is just getting started and coming back from adversity is the key to success in life and on the court.