The boys basketball team made their season debut on Nov. 16th against the Chaminade Eagles, beating them 72-62. Chaminade won the Division I championship last year and were the favorites over Calabasas. 

The game started with a close score as no team was able to break through in the first quarter. Calabasas was opting for a small rotation in the first quarter only playing six players. The Coyotes were able to utilize great ball movement throughout the quarter to find easy buckets and score. However, in this quarter, the Eagles dominated the offense boards and were able to get plenty of second chance opportunities, which helped them keep the game tied at the end of the first quarter. 

Going into the second quarter, the Coyotes had a rough start as they had a lot of turnovers to start the quarter. Ben Hendelman checked into the game and was able to limit the turnovers and compose the team. CHS would catch fire and force tons of turnovers, allowing them to pull ahead in the quarter, leading to a 32-25 score at the end of the half.

The Coyotes started with the momentum in the half but started unraveling later into the quarter. The Coyotes were taking contested threes and  stalled the offense and allowed Chaminade to crawl back into the game. The Eagles were able to shrink the lead to 49-47 to end the third quarter. 

Feeding off the home crowd’s energy, the Coyotes were able to pull out to a seven point lead in the fourth quarter and put the game away. 

The Coyotes won heavily thanks to the efforts of Junior Gavin Murphy, who put up 30 points and drilled six three pointers.

“It’s only the first game, but we were so happy to have such a great effort in the first game … it’s a great way to start off the season,” said Coach Jon Palarz. 

The Coyotes take on Shalhevet on Nov. 18 in a home game.