Mission Prep opens with basketball win over Arroyo Grande as SLO County league play begins

Mountain League high school boys basketball jumped into full swing Friday with a fiercely defended battle between Mission Prep and Arroyo Grande. The Royals came away victorious — 61-44.

The Royals (16-3, 1-0) led 29-23 at the half, as the Eagles (7-11, 0-1) matched Mission Prep’s energy to stay close. Arroyo Grande was coming off of a six-game non-league win streak.

But 19th year Mission Prep Coach Terrance Harris fired up his squad at the half, and the Royals pulled away with dribble penetration and pressure defense to build a sizable lead that hovered around 20 points midway through the second half.

Senior guard Jayden Nozil proved to be too much for the Eagles defense, as he logged 15 points, getting into the paint at will and jumping over Eagles players to pull down offensive rebounds. Royals senior Roman Benedetti added 13 points.

Nozil said the Royals just needed to get jumpstarted, which they did in the second half.

“We knew that we had this team,” Nozil said. “We just needed to reaffirm ourselves. We needed to stop being lazy. And once we stopped being lazy and playing our basketball, that’s when we turned the game around.”

The 6-foot-1 senior guard didn’t settle for jumpers, instead pushing the pace and getting to the rim.

“I’m a drive guy,” Nozil said. “I take it to the rim. I love taking it to the rim, and I’m going keep doing that. I need to work on my three pointer though, it’s coming, it’s coming.”

The Eagles were led by seniors Zayne Ellison, who tallied 14 points, and Grant Fordyce, who added 12 points.

“I didn’t think we played poorly in the first half, but I thought we did give up too many open looks to their shooters,” Harris said. “And I just thought the defensive focus and perimeter recognition and intensity was much better in that third quarter. We held them to five points in that third quarter. And that’s the defensive team we know we can be.”

Harris said that three players on the Royals are averaging 45% or better from the three-point line on the season — seniors Benedetti, Brody Miller and Stokes Wahlen.

And while Arroyo Grande struggled in the second half to find the bucket from long range, Mission Prep’s shooters started to find their mark as David “Deuce” Kellogg and Nozil drove and kicked to open players.

Kellogg, a speedy junior, had 10 points on the night.

“I’m trying to develop, and make sure my jump shot is getting there, “ Kellogg said. “I’m trying to get to the basket and kick it out to the three. That’s my thing. That’s my main goal, to try to help the team as much as possible. Roman, he’s shooting really well. Just getting it to the open man, making plays. We’ve gotten a lot better at that.”

Kellogg said that playing a tough non-league schedule has prepared Mission Prep well: “It’s gotten us so much better. Man, Oxnard was a great team. Oakland Tech, they really showed us where we were at.”

The Royals fell to Oxnard 75-65 on Dec. 28 and narrowly lost to Oakland Tech, last year’s state champion, 65-63.

In light of the rise of 3-pointers in the NBA, and the prevalence of long-range shooting at all levels, Harris said he gives his players a green light if they’re in the flow of the offense.

“We have some guys that can shoot the ball,” Harris said. “But we are more concerned about how we get those looks. As long as we’re getting them through a good flow and through the type of movement that we like, it’s all good.”’

Harris said it was a solid opening to Mountain League play, but the Royals have a long stretch ahead with their biggest challenge, nationally ranked St. Joseph, on Jan. 21 and Feb. 7.

“We’ve still got nine league games left, and so we hope that we continue to grow as a team,” Harris said. “We certainly are pleased with where we’re at right now, but not satisfied.”

Harris added: “We always talk about just trying to take care of what’s next in front of us ... but St. Joseph is a nationally ranked Max Preps team right now. They’re a phenomenal group of players, but we’ve got some competitors that enjoy the opportunity to go out and compete against the very best.”

Mission Prep next plays at Templeton (11-8, 0-2 Mountain) on the road on Tuesday. Arroyo Grande next plays against San Luis Obispo (14-4, 0-1) on Tuesday at SLO.