SAN DIEGO – Few teams in San Diego County entered the postseason playing a better brand of basketball than Mission Bay.
Before their opening round game in the CIF Open Division playoffs, the Buccaneers had won six straight, 10 of their last 11, and were fresh off being crowned champions of the Western League.
However, Mission Bay’s year came to an unexpected halt as the Buccaneers fell to Francis Parker in the first round, 55-50.
“We came in confident. We knew they were a good team and it would be a battle, and told the guys it was going to be a two-of-three-possession game,” said Mission Bay coach Marshawn Cherry.
The Buccaneers built an early lead in Friday night’s quarterfinal, finding themselves ahead 12-10 after the first quarter. Things remained tight for a majority of the first half, with neither team able to build a first-half lead larger than four points. Mission Bay found itself trailing 26-25 at halftime.
Out of the break, Francis Parker began to show a clear advantage on the glass. That advantage led to numerous second-chance shot opportunities, and eventually helped the Lancers grow a 41-35 lead by quarter’s end.
“Rebounding was the biggest difference. We gave them too many second-chance opportunities,” Cherry said. “Also, on our rotations, we had times where a guy didn’t bump and allowed them to get opportunities to hit some key three pointers late.”
That six-point lead soon grew for Francis Parker, with the Lancers going on a 7-2 run over the first 2:30 of the fourth quarter, putting Mission Bay in a double-digit hole, 48-37.
The Bucs managed to cut the Parker lead to eight points following a corner three from Lucky Davis to make it a 48-40 game with 3:57 to play. Two minutes later, with 1:35 to go, Mission Bay trimmed the margin to just five after another triple, this time from Travis Hasley, making it a 47-52 game, and forcing Francis Parker to call a timeout.
Over the final 1:30, though, the Bucs failed to close the five-point gap. On the ensuing Parker possession, a driving layup from Tavid Johnson made it 54-47. Mission Bay responded with a possession that lasted nearly 30 seconds, but culminated in no points, putting the game on ice.
In the loss, Mission Bay was led by senior Clay Grebing, who finished with a game-high 19 points, while collecting seven rebounds and three assists. Sophomore Lucky Davis tallied 11 points and three boards, and senior Jocori Bartlett ended the night with 10 points, two rebounds, and four assists.
Mission Bay’s 50 points as a team was its lowest total output since Jan. 23 against Mira Mesa.
While the Bucs’ CIF San Diego championship bid came to an earlier-than-expected end, Cherry and his staff still view the season in a positive light.
Despite losing one of San Diego County’s top talents in guard Caleb Newton, Mission Bay still posted a fourth straight 20-plus win season, made its second straight appearance in the CIF Open Division playoffs, picked up seven wins against preseason top 10 teams, and captured the 2025-2026 Western League.
It’s a team that adopted and thrived under a next-man-up mentality.
“In my opinion, we had lost one of the best players in the county going into the season in Caleb Newton, but we had guys like Travis Haley help step in and fill that role, or got big minutes and big plays from a guy like Lucky Davis coming off the bench,” said Cherry.
“We also had guys like Jo-Jo Bartlett who put in a ton of work to improve and were key in this teams success.”
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