On Saturday, February 22nd 2020, the Maywood Boys Basketball team defeated the RFK Bobcats in the CIF Division 4 Semi-final playoff game with a score of 69-55. Maywood hosted the game at MaCES High School at 7:00 pm.

The Nighthawks were dominant throughout the entire game, allowing the Bobcats to briefly be on top for a few minutes throughout the first and second quarters. Soon afterwards, Maywood’s defense and offense kept getting more and more aggressive. The Bobcats put up a good fight and performed very well despite not being able to catch up towards the end of the game.

The starters for Maywood were Andrew Camarena, Sebastian Villareal, Joshua Aguilera (co-captain), Brian Gracian (co-captain), and Damien Olmos (captain). The Bobcat starters were Alexis Payan, Eddie Diego, Abel Mengistu, Hugo Diaz, and Jordan Hernandez. Both teams had full rosters, 15 players.

The RFK Bobcats won the tip off and were the first to put points on the scoreboard. They scored a total of 23 points in the first half of the game whereas Maywood scored a total of 33. RFK committed a total of 7 fouls in the first half, Maywood had 8.

In the second half, Maywood scored a total of 36 points, RFK scored 32. The Nighthawks did not sustain a big lead but still managed to score 4 three pointers while committing 13 fouls. On the other hand, RFK hit 5 three pointers and committed 11 fouls.

Leading scorers for each team were Joshua Aguilera with 18, Andrew Camarena with 16, and Damien Olmos and Brian Gracian with 12 for Maywood. For RFK, Jordan Hernandez scored 16 points and Hugo Diaz had 15. Diaz had a good scoring game, hitting 4 three pointers and all three free throws he was given. 

One of the most memorable highlights of this game was when Bernardo Munoz, the only freshman on the team, from Maywood Academy scored his first ever playoff point after several free throw attempts. Maywood fans erupted with cheers, marking this as the beginning of his high school career on the varsity squad.

Once the buzzer went off, the Maywood Academy Nighthawks began celebrating knowing they have now advanced to the Championship.

“The first thing I told my team is don’t celebrate just yet, we still have work to do. Enjoy the win, but back to work. Don’t be satisfied [with] just getting to the championship, but winning it!” said Coach Jon Delgado from Maywood Academy. “It feels great and amazing… the team and staff have put a lot of work and sacrifices to get where we are at.” For Coach Jon, this is the second time he is heading to the Championship game in the past four years. In 2016 his team fell short from winning the Division IV title but this year he feels very confident in his squad and believes they can take it all the way.

Both teams performed very well and kept the crowd on their feet for the majority of the game. This was a highly anticipated game because the night before, on Friday February 21st, Maywood’s Girls Basketball team played and lost against the RFK Bobcats. This sparked some tension between supporters and fans from both schools. From the beginning of this game, both teams knew the pressure to win was on.

Unfortunately, there was an altercation that occurred in the stands at the end of the game. No Maywood students were involved, however adults supporting both schools took part in the altercation. 

Maywood’s athletic director, Mr. Serratos stated the situation was handled responsibly and staff was able to quickly control the situation.   

“School administration from both schools and officers cleared the gym and made sure everyone got home safe with no additional conflicts. There were no reported injuries.” Daniel Gettinger, principal from Maywood Academy. Dr. Gettinger has sent out a message to parents and families from Maywood Academy to remind them about the “importance of modeling good sportsmanship and respect for all.”

The Maywood Nighthawks have advanced to the CIF Los Angeles City Section Boys Basketball Division 4 Championship game. They will play at Granada Hills High School tomorrow at 8:00 pm versus Sun Valley Magnet.