The CORE Butte boys varsity basketball team continued play in the Oroville High School tournament on Friday afternoon, falling 82-11 to Yreka High School in a “consolation” bracket matchup at Oroville High School’s gymnasium.
The game, which started at 3:29 p.m., marked CORE’s second appearance in the tournament and came with the Lynx still searching for their first win of the season at 0-9. Yreka, the Panthers, controlled the game from the opening minutes, moving quickly.
CORE trailed 16-4 at the end of the first quarter, with Yreka knocking down two three-pointers. The second quarter proved even tougher, as the Panthers extended the lead greatly with a score of 47-5 by halftime. Yreka added three more three-pointers in the period, repeatedly finding open looks as CORE struggled to keep up defensively.
At halftime, frustration was evident on the sidelines, with parents calling out for the team to “pick it up.” CORE’s offense often slowed in the half-court, allowing Yreka to more easily anticipate passes and jump lanes, leading to many turnover opportunities for the Panthers.
Yreka hit four additional three-pointers and pushed the score to 68-11 by the end of the period. CORE continued to battle, but the size, speed, and aggressiveness of Yreka proved difficult to overcome. They slowed down in the fourth quarter, but the damage had already been done, and the game ended at 4:31 p.m. with an 82-11 final.
The loss extends CORE Butte’s losing streak to 10 games. The Lynx will play again on Saturday, Jan. 10, against either Portola High School or Lassen High School in a matchup for seventh place. A loss in that game would place CORE eighth out of the eight teams competing in the tournament.
After the game, assistant coach Donovan Freer pointed to confidence and intensity as areas the team must improve.
“They need to bring their confidence up, and they need to believe in themselves,” he said. “These other teams have been a lot more athletic and bigger than us, and they just have more fight in them, and I feel like we’re missing that.”