Division-II Championship Game Should Be One For The Ages

Only the Reseda Regents stand in the way of the Boys' Basketball's quest for back-to-back Division-II Championships. The Cats were favored when they defeated the Eagle Rock Eagles 48-41 in the finals last season, but this season the championship comes down to the No. 1 seed against the No. 2 seed. Before the season began the Cats (23-9, 6-6) and Regents (22-7, 9-1) where picked as favorites to reach this point, and those predictions have been fulfilled.
In the regular season, the Regents won the Valley Mission League, while the Cats finished in a tie for third in the Western League. The Cats strength of schedule is impressive compared to the Regents, with four games against nationally ranked Westchester and Fairfax on the schedule.
The Regents have dominated in the playoffs, defeating Roosevelt 72-41, North Hollywood 82-60, and the Venice Gondoliers 69-56 in the semi-finals.
The Cats have had a tougher path in the post-season, defeating the Locke Saints 67-55, the Granada Hills Highlanders 69-55, and the Narbonne Gauchos 73-63.
Head-to-head, both teams stack up pretty even. The Regents have a better offense and create more turnovers. The Cats are better on the glass and are better at helping out in the paint with blocked shots despite having shorter players.
The Regents get off to fast starts, averaging 43 points in the first half, while the Cats get defensive in the second half and close the game with an average of 20 points in the fourth quarter, their highest scoring quarter.
The Cats are a slightly lower scoring team with decent balance. Seniors Alex Brooks and Andre Harris score right around 15 points per game, while sophomore David Nwaba pitches in with 14 per game. Head Coach Steve Ackerman can go as much as seven men deep, with junior Clayton Schindler-Nizon, who can heat up in a hurry from behind the three point line, and freshman Keywhon Powns coming off the bench with confidence they will be able to execute.
The Regents do not have the depth that the Cats enjoy, but they are able to play confidentally with six players averaging either more or around double-figures scoring. They are led by 6'7" senior forward Ryan Watkins. Watkins averages 23 points and 11 rebounds per game.

KEYS FOR A WILDCAT VICTORY:
- The most critical individual match-up is between Nwaba and Watkins. Nwaba, 6'3" will have the task of not only defending Watkins, but of keeping him off the glass as well. All indications are that Nwaba is up to the challenge. Watkins is not the biggest, nor most athletic, player Nwaba has had to defend this season. With previous match-ups against 6'10" Renardo Sidney, 6'6" Solomon Hill, and 6'7" Dwayne Polee Jr. under his belt, Nwaba is used to playing much taller opponents with success. Nwaba led the Western League, despite the aforementioned players being in the same league, in rebounding and was a blocked shot machine. Nwaba has the leaping ability and length to be able to disrupt Watkins.
- The Cats live and die by the three but, in this game, playing against the most potent offense they've seen since league play, they cannot afford to start hoisting up three balls as they had the tendency to do during the regular season. Brooks, Nizon, and sophomore point guard Jamie Harper are all deadly sharpshooters, but the Cats are efficient from inside the three point line shooting 56% compared to 37% from behind the arc. They have to try and establish their interior scoring and make each possession count. Brooks needs to be an agressive facilitator. He has shown the ability to make plays by taking defenders off the dribble and is automatic whenever he gets to the free-throw line. If the Cats can pound the ball down low with Nwaba, Harris and junior Anthony Harris Jr., who was impressive against the Gauchos, then they can take advantage of their shooters.
- DEFENSE WINS CHAMPIONSHIPS! And so does good decision making. The Cats have the ability to dominate with their defense. They must see what defense is effective, either man-to-man or zone, and stick with it. If they go man, Brooks is a lockdown on the ball defender with Nwaba reinforcing the paint with intimidating shot blocking. On offense, they cannot allow the Regents to create turnovers. The Regents get 12 steals per game and can transition that to easy offense. The Cats allowed the Gauchos fight back from a 19-point deficit with lazy uninspired play in the third quarter before putting the game away in the fourth.