On Saturday Night, coach Ryan Coleman led the Shalhevet Firehawks to a 53 – 44 victory over his son, Grayson Coleman, and the Calabasas Coyotes. The matchup was reminiscent of the Coyotes’ loss against the Firehawks last year, in which they fell behind early and attempted to fight back for the majority of the game.
From the tip, Shalhevet established a stagnant pace and displayed suffocating defense. The Coyotes were only able to muster three made field goals in the first quarter. Despite the low offensive output, the Coyotes were able to limit Shalhevet to 13 points at the end of the first quarter. The Firehawks’ relied primarily on the three pointer as they hit four of them in the 1st to go up by 6.
The 2nd quarter was a completely different story as Shalhevet went on an offensive rampage to blow the game wide open. Calabasas center Aidan Dorel struggled to connect on multiple occasions and the Firehawks were able to control the paint on both sides of the ball. Shalhevet point guard Aidan Bitran was a problem throughout the quarter as he continuously found ways to score. Senior Tidiane Sy miraculously made a full-court heave as the halftime buzzer sounded, but the officials deemed it was too late. Calabasas only scored six points in the 2nd compared to Shalhevet’s 23, and faced a 36-13 deficit at the break.
Similar to the first half, points came at a premium for the Coyotes, scoring only 11 points in the quarter. Senior Odijie Okijie made an immediate impact upon checking into the game, as he corralled multiple offensive rebounds and established his scoring presence in the paint. He would be one of three Coyotes to finish with 10 points in the game. Despite the prolonged offensive struggle, the Calabasas defense showed lots of intensity and outscored Shalhevet in the 3rd quarter.
Heading into the fourth quarter, the Coyotes attempted to overcome a 46-24 deficit. The momentum shifted following a thunderous fast break dunk from Tidiane Sy. A couple of plays later, freshman Grayson Coleman fed a slick pass to center Odijie Okijie for a monster two handed slam. Coleman, who had struggled all night, was beginning to exhibit who he had been all year for the Coyotes.
“I don’t want to sound pompous, but I know all his weaknesses,” said Shalhevet coach Ryan Coleman with a smirk.
With 5 minutes remaining, Calabasas cut the lead to 16. Shortly after, sophomore Dylan Mccord turned the ball over, and Shalhevet drained a three on the ensuing possession. Later in the 4th, Mccord and Coleman hit back to back threes to cut the Firehawk’s lead to 8 points with under a minute to play. Unfortunately, the surge was too little too late for the Coyotes as they wound up losing by 9.
Despite the loss, it was a full circle moment for those involved in the game tonight. Shalhevet head coach Ryan Coleman previously played for Jon Palarz, and now Ryan’s son, Grayson, plays under Coach Palarz. Grayson ended up finishing with 10 points in a rare off night.
“It was a surreal experience for me,” said Shalhevet coach Ryan Coleman. “It was one of the hardest tasks I’ve ever been faced with while coaching.”
Shalhevet’s win tonight ties the series at three games a piece since the teams began playing each other in 2018.
The Coyotes will look to get back on track against Cleveland High School on December 21st.
