When LA Lakers General Manager Mitch Kupchak walked into Mira Costa’s Fisher Gymnasium Saturday night, the Mustangs were leading Brentwood by 15-12 as the first quarter came to a close.
Even though Kupchak tried hard to be inconspicuous and gave off a please-do-not-approach vibe, a celebrity buzz built throughout the gym as word of his presence spread. More important, it lit a fire under his son, 6-foot-5 forward Maxwell Kupchak, who proceeded to score 20 points while leading Brentwood to a hard-fought 57-53 win over the Mustangs in the championship game of the Mira Costa Pacific Shores Tournament.
But for disappointed Mustang fans, the key factor in the tough loss wasn’t Kupchak’s presence. It was the game-but-injured status of their star and leading scorer, 5-foot-10 senior point guard Dylan Kim. Kim had taken a hard fall on his tailbone near the end of Costa’s semi-final win over Harvard-Westlake, and it was uncertain if he would even play in the championship game.
“His back was hurting big-time,” said Mustang Coach Jeff Amaral after the game. “I wasn’t even sure he could play tonight. It was a game time decision.”
Kim, normally an eager and deadly shooter, was content most of the night to simply swing the ball around the perimeter and look for other open shooters. His lightning quickness and penetration skills simply weren’t there Saturday night.
Still, he hit a couple of late three-pointers when Costa was making a desperate push to get back in the game and he ended up with 14 points. Gavin Reagan, a 6-foot-7 senior center, finished as the Mustang’s leading scorer with 16 points and a dozen rebounds.
Feeling good with its 15-12 lead at the end of the first quarter, Mira Costa had no one to turn to when its usual primary ball-handler, Kim, wasn’t playing at his usual elite level. The Mustangs and their fans watched helplessly as Brentwood constantly trapped the ball-handlers and dominated the second quarter by a margin of 21-7. It was a run punctuated by Kupchak’s baseline dunk mid-way through the quarter. It really got ugly when Ountae Campbell, Brentwood’s 6-foot-4 do-everything guard/forward, drilled a running three-pointer from just inside half-court to beat the buzzer and bump the lead up to double digits at 33-22.
The third quarter was a stand-off, as Brentwood maintained its substantial lead throughout and entered the fourth with a 10-point margin at 42-32. But Reagan hit a 10-foot jumper and Sam Sturges nailed a corner three and suddenly Brentwood’s lead was down to 5 at 42-37. With four minutes left Kim splashed a long three to cut it to 45-42.
That’s when Kupchak took over and really made his dad proud. First he executed a nice baseline spin move to break free for a soaring dunk, and then he drilled his first 3-pointer of the game to get the lead back to six at 50-44.
Costa kept fighting and got it back to 54-51 with 30 seconds left when Sturges threw a nifty pass to a cutting Reagan that resulted in an easy layup. But Kupchak hit three out of four foul shots as Costa was forced to foul, and the Mustangs absorbed their first loss of the season after starting out 3-0 with three wins in its own Pac Shores tournament.
Overall, Coach Amaral said, despite the loss he was proud of his team and optimistic about the season ahead.
“Brentwood played very well and we fought hard until the very end,” he said. “If we had hit a couple more shots in the second and third quarters, if Dylan wasn’t hurt….who knows?”
He didn’t say it, but one couldn’t help wonder: and what if Mitch Kupchak hadn’t walked in and inspired his son to play such a great game?
Contact the writer: paulteetor@verizon.net
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