Plano Christmas Classic: Mendota falls 67-48 to CICS Longwood to open week

PLANO – Mendota coach Steve Hanson knew his team would have an uphill battle against an athletic and talented bunch from Chicago Longwood in the opening round of the 58th Annual Plano Christmas Classic.

But what others most likely didn’t expect was how well the unseeded Trojans would perform for better than 2 1/2 quarters before succumbing to No. 4-seeded Longwood’s relentless full-court pressure defense in a 67-48 loss Monday evening at Reaper Gymnasium.

With the game tied at 36 and three minutes to go in the third period, the Panthers ramped up their press and ultimately forced 20 Mendota turnovers in the second half – and 31 for the game – as Longwood embarked on a monstrous 31-12 run that ended the proceedings.

“We definitely were wore out later in the game by their pressure, got disorganized and kind of fell apart when we had things tied up,” Hanson said. “But we played very hard against a very talented team tonight, and I’m very proud of our effort even though we couldn’t sustain it until the end.”

The Trojans (2-8) received a team-leading 15 points from junior Krew Bond as well as 12 tallies and a contest-best nine rebounds off the hands from junior Raphael Romero. Junior Isaac Guzman also added 10 markers, but Mendota ultimately was no match for Longwood (6-1), which started slow but came alive behind the amazing play of senior Terrance Jones, who recorded a game-high 26 points as the Panthers also swiped 18 steals on the night.

“I believe Terrance is one of the best small-school players in the state, and he showed it in this game,” Longwood coach Keyon Smothers said. “He really took control of the game in the second half, but I wasn’t very happy with the way we played before that.

“We didn’t really know what to expect coming to Plano and a different brand of basketball than we’re used to seeing in Chicago, but we got things done in the end. Hopefully we’ll perform much better in the tournament moving forward.”

Mendota led 13-10 after one period and 29-26 at the half, as Guzman hit back-to-back right-wing triples at 4:40 and 4:15 in the second stanza that helped keep the three-point margin entering the locker room at the half.

But after a Bond deuce at the three-minute mark of the third quarter tied the proceedings for the last time at 36, Jones and the Panthers were relentless in their pressure defense from there on. The result was a decisive Longwood rally where Jones netted 16 points before the final horn, mostly off steals and a pair of 3-pointers to run away with the victory.

Longwood moves on to the championship quarterfinals at 7 p.m. Tuesday against No. 5 Northridge Prep, while Mendota falls to the consolation side of the bracket, where it will take on unseeded Plano at 12:30 p.m. Tuesday.

“We did a great job in the first half, but we couldn’t hold on against a very good basketball team that has a lot of talent,” Hanson said. “Tonight we just ran out of gas, and tomorrow it won’t get any easier, so we’ll see how we can respond.”