Providence boys basketball suffered a season-ending 57-49 loss to Samueli Academy in the CIF-SS Div. 9 Quarterfinals on Tuesday in Santa Barbara.
The Patriots enjoyed one of their most successful seasons and a deep postseason run under first-year head coach Ian Reed.
“What a season. Big credit to Samueli and Coach Bettinger, they played tough the whole game and made it hard to score,” Reed said. “I’m thankful for our seniors, Sam Oliynyk and Isaac Hoffman. They, along with junior Josh Pacheco, put in countless hours of work and were asked to do so many different things throughout the season. These three are kids to coach. They work hard, they listen to instruction, and they get after it in practice and games.
“One of my favorite parts this year was the way we grew closer as a team. Our energy from Eric Mora, Roly Thuele, John Herrera, and Asher Meadth especially brought this team together and showed us day in and day out who we’re playing for.”
Providence was led by 19 points from Ben Rupnow, while Sam Oliynyk hauled in 10 rebounds.
“Ben finished off the season great,” Reed said. “His offensive aggression and finishing have gotten ten times better from the start of the season. It’s going to be a joy to watch him continue to dominate any matchup he wants.
“I can’t talk about defense without mentioning Micah Song and Chris Van Wyck. My junior captains took the hardest assignments day in and day out. They had to pick up full court and still be the playmakers on offense.”