In five days over Christmas break, the Dons basketball team won three out of four games and placed third in the Max Preps Holiday Classic Tournament in Palms Springs. Cathedral made it to the semifinals of the tournament with wins over Serra High School from Los Angeles, Rancho Verde High School from Riverside area, and a 28-point victory over Lake Washington High School out of Washington. The Dons only defeat of the tournament was a close one, in a 49-48 semifinals loss against Beverly Hills High School.

Many of the Dons’ players felt they got the short end of the stick because of the referees. “I think the team was robbed against Beverly Hills, and the refs played a big part of that. However, we can only move on at this point” said junior forward Michael Marshall.

The team did have some good takeaways from the tournament. “We were able to learn how to play with one another which is important for our team chemistry because we have a really young team. We only have four seniors, so all the tournaments we played in are preparing us well for the season,” Marshall said.

This Friday at 7:30 p.m. Cathedral will face off against the rival Saintsmen in the Claver Center. Saints is 12-4 on the season so far, coming off of a 50-44 win vs. Mission Bay.

This is the second meeting between St. Augustine and Cathedral this year, with the first game ending in a 61-55 saints win.

“I think the team is feeling pretty confident going into the Saints game because preseason has allowed us to adjust to the different playing styles and abilities. We seem to complement each other well” Michael Marshall said.

Be sure to follow @ElCidSports on Twitter for updates on the team and their season.