The Mark Keppel High boys’ basketball team’s quest for a CIF Southern Section title came to a screeching derailment Friday night.

The Aztecs shot poorly from the floor and lost to Pasadena High, 63-48, in front of an electrically packed crowd at Muir High in the CIF Southern Section semifinals.

Mark Keppel advanced to the semifinals by beating host Baldwin Park, 77-63, Tuesday night in the quarterfinals.

Aztec starter Timmy Wong – who led the Aztecs with 19 points and seemed to always have the ball in his hands – said his team just didn’t shoot well against the Bulldogs.
“If we had more shots go in, it would have been closer and we might have found a way to win,” Wong said. “We did the best we could.”

Wong added he felt the Aztecs played exceptionally well defensively, especially considering the size of the Pasadena players.

“Our defense is the structure of our team,” he said. “That’s how we get our intensity.”
Mark Keppel coach Hung Duong said his team put up a good fight.

“We knew we could compete tonight,” Duong said. “We had to make sure to execute and make shots. Tonight we didn’t make shots. The kids played hard and got tired. They couldn’t make shots. But we weren’t afraid. We knew what we could do.”

Duong added the game was played with great intensity all over the court.

“It was a very physical game,” he said. “With us, it was just a matter of making shots. We were getting good looks. We just weren’t putting them down.”

In addition, he said he was very proud of the way the Aztecs played all season.

“The kids’ efforts were great,” he said. “You can’t ask for anything more.”

Keppel jumped out an early first quarter 5-0 lead despite constant pressure from the Bulldog defense, but would never lead again. Pasadena took advantage of Keppel’s inability to hit shots and went on a 13-5 run to lead at the end of the first quarter, 13-10.

Keppel continued its shooting woes in the second quarter and didn’t make a field goal until there was 3:57 left in the period – a three-point shot by Wong – and trailed at halftime, 30-20.
Keppel started the second half on a 9-8 run, finally hitting some baskets with consistency, but it didn’t last, making just one shot in the final four minutes of the quarter and trailed after three periods, 44-33.

The Aztecs still couldn’t find the basket on a jump shot in the fourth quarter until the 4:34 mark when senior Justin Young hit a slam dunk on an “alley oop,” making the game, 51-40. Young would finish the night with 11 points.

(Shel Segal can be reached at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .)