Citrus Cup Runneth Over for Bonita Basketball Teams

The Bonita varsity girls filled the Citrus Cup to the brim.

On Tuesday night, the Citrus Cup runneth over twice for Bonita, as the Bearcats varsity boys’ and girls’ teams cruised to easy victories over San Dimas in games played at Damien High School. The boys won the nightcap, 69-41, and the girls won the opener, 70-35.

The Bonita boys played unselfishly all night, with guards James Northup and Jordan Butler passing up their shots to distribute the ball. The biggest beneficiary was Bonita’s Chris Finch who found himself on the receiving end of several driving baskets, finishing the night as the game’s high scorer with 17 points.

“I was really pleased with the way we shared the ball,” said Bonita head coach Greg Eckler. “If you run the floor with either James or Jordan, you’re going to be rewarded.”

Fans also got their first real good look at newcomer Scott Fassas, whose brother Tim Fassas was one of the key players on last year’s outstanding squad before moving on to play at Chaffey College this season.

“Scott is getting better and better each day,” Eckler said. Fassas scored 7 points in the first half and finished with 9 points. He also recovered several loose balls and displayed a nice shooting touch when called upon.

The boys took home a cup of their own.

Bonita jumped out to early 6-0 lead on back-to-back threes by Butler and Northup before San Dimas went on 8-0 run of its own to lead 8-6. After baskets by Finch and Northup, San Dimas came back once more to tie the game at 10-10, and then after a bucket by Fassas, Bonita never trailed again.

Bonita led 21-14 at the end of the first quarter, 41-22 at the half, 59-31 at the end of three before closing out the game, 69-41. Before the game, there was some concern that Bonita lacked some big bodies to bang underneath the basket because several players on the team are still playing football, but center Shayan Karim played well in their absence.

At the same time, the shorthanded Bearcats were able to showcase some new faces, including Jeremiah Rasmussen, Brandon Ko, Matt Adams, Bryan Mahood and Sean McElwain.

Madison Zylstra, foreground, and Taylor Anderson, led all scorers with 21 and 20 points, respectively.

Meanwhile, the girls never looked back after taking an early 5-2 lead on a three-pointer by Madison Zylstra, who scored Bonita’s first 8 points of the game. She went on to lead all scorers with 21 points while Taylor Anderson, on her way next fall to Loyola, finished up with 20 points, which included a huge 13-point third quarter.

If the Bonita girls had a few butterflies because they were facing their cross-town rivals, their emotions weren’t reflected on the scoreboard. “We had a few jitters at the start before we found our rhythm,” said Bonita coach Darren Baumunk.

Ffreshman point guard Nikki Wheatley helped Bonita played an up-tempo game that help the Bearcats generate several fast-break scoring opportunities. “She did very well,” Baumunk said. “Her instincts for the game are very good.”

The Bonita girls scored 70, and the boys scored 69 for a total of 139 points. The cups runneth over indeed for one night, anyway.

The girls will be the first to let you know they couldn't have achieved victory without their coaches.