The MS A team won a fairly tough match against AOBA in the semi-finals of the tournament. CAJ's boys were gutty in finding themselves behind in the second half for one of the few times this season but finding a way to pull it out. Again the defense paved the way while the offense find it difficult to put the ball in the basket. In the end, the boys found a way to create a few turnovers with their full court defense. The whole team deserves credit for winning this tough match. They now turn their eyes towards the prize in the finals against ASIJ.

Well, well, well, what can you say. The CAJ Knights added a tournament crown to go to along with their regular season one. The finals was handled by the boys the way the whole season has been with stifling, hustling defense. This time the boys also got their offense in gear and were never really threatened as they only gave up 2 points in the first quarter. All the boys pitched in to score, dive after loose balls, and defend. Truly it was a beauty to behold as those boys have played together all year unselfishly. Each player on this team had a special place to play in giving the Knights their first undefeated season in quite a while. The two captains, E. Petersen and K. Smoker, should especially be recognized for their outstanding leadership on the team. Never was their any gripping about playing time or scoring points, and these two were a big reason for that, providing the kind of examples that inspired others to follow their leads. This teams M.O. all year long was defense and guts. Even with E. Petersen, their leading rebounder and scorer, out for half the season, the boys never lost faith and proved that by never dropping a game. This showed their poise and depth. Finally, a special thanks to Coach Smoker and Coach Reasoner. Great year boys! God bless. Coach Hancock

CAJ jumped out to a quick 13-3 1st quarter lead and went on to another defensive won game. Again the offense produced seven scorers with everyone diving for loose balls and playing our tough full court press. The boys finished the season undefeated and head into the season ending tournament as the number one seed. Of course the boys know that their record for that tournament starts at 0-0, so they plan to play with the same intensity they have the whole season. Cheer the Knights on one last time as they try to finish the season in style. (Hats off to E.Petersen as he was able to once again join the team for a full game. And other hats off to all the teammates who took up his slack while he was out, especially K.Smoker).

YIS came out hard but was unable to handle to Knight's pressure. Again their defense determined the game. All the players contributed to a well balanced win with eight players contributing in the scoring column. These boys are looking awful tough as they play together and take no prisoners on defense.

Well, the second game of a double header proved to be a challenge as the Knights had foul trouble with K. Smoker picking up three early fouls. The half time score was 17-14 in CAJ's favor. The boys decided to pick it up in the second half and had a strong third quarter scoring 19 points with their full court pressure. They closed it out in the fourth quarter with their best balanced scoring game of the season. Five players scored six or more points. Even E. Petersen, who has been out with a broken arm, got some action. The team looks forward to having him at full speed in the near future. There is one remaining regular season game before the tournament. Can these boys keep their slate clean? Tune in next week as they finish the regular season against ASIJ.

Leaving it all on the floor, the B team played a close game against ASIJ to finish out their season. The Knight's never gave up, taking ASIJ down to the last minutes of the game and making them earn their victory. Both teams playing a balanced game, the result could have gone either way with a few stops on defense or shots dropping in on offense. Regardless of the score, it felt like a CAJ victory with the intensity and amount of heart the boys put in at the end. It goes without saying that the B team made HUGE improvements throughout the course of the season. The boys have worked really hard and have laid the foundation for continual improvement and good things to come in the future. [noteworthy performances against ASIJ: Brandon N. -16 pts., Benjamin B. - 4 pts., Seth K. and Subaru U. with 2 pts. each]

In our first close game of the season, the boys played really hard and almost pulled out a victory. It seemed like there was a lid on the rim as our lay ups and shots just wouldn't drop while YIS was able to score hard-earned baskets. The boys put into practice their help-defense and did an excellent job in not allowing YIS to score at will. In the second half we were able to get some offense going and start putting the ball in the hoop. Coming within three points near the end of the game we had some opportunities to bring it even closer, but just couldn't put the ball in the hoop. All in all, a tough loss but great effort by the B team. Scorers for the game were Brandon N. with 9 points, Joshua T. and Ben B. with 3 a piece, and Subaru U. finishing with 2 points.

Playing in our second game of the day, the boys seemed to come alive and take control of the game from the get-go. Getting baskets in transition, running the plays well, while also reading the defense and being able to improvise, the offense flowed naturally allowing multiple players to score. Defensively, the team played as a unit, helping each other out and causing turnovers which resulted in fast-break opportunities. Throughout the course of the day, each player was able to score at least once. Noteworthy performances were Brandon N. (20 pts.), Kaiya W. playing big (6 pts.) and Joshua T. getting in on the action (4 pts.). A very good end to a long day. (last game of the season at ASIJ - 1/30)

First home game and first win of the season! Despite having two weeks off for Christmas break, the B team guys came back ready to play. Showing what they were capable of in the few practices leading up to this game, the discipline and sense of team basketball was clearly evident in this game. It's hard to single out players as every one of them played very well. A few noteworthy performances were Brandon N. (11 pts.), Subaru U. (10 pts.), Joshua T. (4 pts.) and Danny Y. and Reishi M. both finishing with 2 pts. each. The improvement that each player has made since the beginning of the season is clearly visible and I'm looking forward to seeing how the rest of the season turns out. (next games: YIS and St. Maur doubleheader @ CAJ 1/23)

Great game B team!! Things are starting to come together piece by piece as we begin to play more as team than just as individuals. Similar to the St. Mary's game, the second half was much better than the first. Offensively, things started to flow more and steals came in bunches as our defense picked up. Brandon Nakamura was a nice addition to our team putting up 9 points. Danny finished with 6, and Joshua with 1. All ten players contributed greatly with their hard work on both the defensive and offensive ends. Things are only going to get better from here! (next game: Jan. 9)

CAJ battled and battled today, but was not able to pull out a win in its last game of the season. CAJ played it's best all-around game and played great swarming defense, but ASIJ had too many weapons. These guys win and lose as a team, they run the plays and work hard whether down by 2 or 10...I couldn't be more proud as their coach!! It would be great to have a few more games because we keep on improving every game. Practice hard in the off season, and then practice some more to prepare for the next basketball season. Fantastic job team! Scoring: Joseph L - 5, Michael C - 2, Jeremy L - 2, Danile Lee - 2, Steven N - 1.

Our C team gave YIS all they could handle for 4 full quarters. YIS lead most of the game, but CAJ battled back in the 4th quarter tie at 13-13 with about 90 seconds left. YIS scored a basket to go ahead at that point. CAJ had several chances to tie it up - even in the last few seconds, but the ball didn't bounce our way as we lost 15-13. What an intense game! Keep up the excellent effort! Scoring: Reishi M. 8, Joseph L. 3, Daniel L. 2

It was literally a “David versus Goliath” game versus ASIJ. The ASIJ C team was comprised of all 8th graders and our C team is comprised of only 6th graders. ASIJ had height (one guy was about 6 ft. 3/4 inches), size, age and experience but I challenged my guys to do their best and not give up. The score was lopsided. We lost 50 – 5....but there were moments when we outplayed the Goliaths, and I couldn’t have been more proud of our team because they never gave up, ran the plays well, and gave glory to God by their attitudes and actions. Super job guys. Doxa! Scores: Stephen N: 2, Michael C: 2 , Daniel L: 1.

The C teamers and B teamers were divided into the Blue and White teams for an exciting inter-squad game. Both teams were determined to come away with a victory. It was great to see both teams play with teamwork, hustle, communicate well, and encourage each other to keep plugging away. The game was close for the first three quarters and then the Blue team scored 10 points to White’s 3 in the fourth quarter to win 26 – 15 over the White team. Blue team scoring: Michael C – 14, Steve N – 4, Joseph L – 4, Reishi M – 2, Benjamin B – 2. White team scoring: Subaru U – 6, Danny Y – 6, Yousaku O. – 3. Well done CAJ!

Today was our first game of the season and the first official game ever for some of our players. Our boys hustled on both ends of the court and we were down only by 4 points at halftime. We pulled to within 2 points in the 3rd quarter before the ball bounced Nishi Machi's way several times as they pulled away in the 4th quarter to win 26-12. The boys gave it all they had. Well done C team! I am proud of you. Points: Steven N. 2, Jeremy L. 2, Joseph L. 2, Michael C. 2, David C. 2, Yousaku O. 2.

The A team girls came out hard with full court pressure and kept the game close for three quarters, not bad for just six practices. All the girls got a chance to play with a rotation of about every 2-3 minutes. Each one played hard and learned a few things they can work on before the next game. We, as a team, are looking for continued improvement as the season progresses.

This was a thriller that came down to the last 6.8 seconds. The crowd was noisy, and kids and parents screaming so loud the players couldn't hear their own plays being called and some of the coach's instructions. In spite of the noise and chaos at Seisen, our girls fought through everything and won 14-11! Franchette led the charge early as CAJ scored the first 4 points of the game to get us off to a great start. It was the first official game for all our girls except for two players. The Seisen team was physical and did not give up. Several of our players were knocked to the floor, yet they got back up and played with intensity. Our defense and rebounding was consistently good and these were the two keys to victory. Things intensified in the second half of the 4th quarter as Seisen steamed back from a 12-6 deficit to cut the lead to 12-11. With 6.8 seconds left, we inbounded the ball on a long pass and scored as time ran out to ice the victory. Well done CAJ girls! Scoring: Franchette K. 4 pts., Dawan K. 4 pts., Nicole A. 2 pts., Hana N. 2 pts., Josephine 2 pts.