Thunder fall to Clovis West in finals of NorCal Tip-Off Tournament

It's not often that you see four non-seniors in the starting lineup for a high school basketball team. For the Rocklin High boys' team, that lineup has been working to start the season as the Thunder made it to the finals of the NorCal Tip-Off Tournament before losing 74-65 to Clovis West on Saturday night. "First, you have to give Clovis West credit for how they play and that run was created throughout the game with their pressure because they wore us down," Thunder coach Steve Taylor said. "They are the top high school basketball program in Central and Northern California. That being said, I think our guys played very hard and we just physically and mentally ran out of gas." The Thunder have only one senior, two juniors, a sophomore and a freshman that start and it was the underclassmen who shined the brightest in Saturday's contest at William Jessup University. Sophomore Mark Lavrenov led the way with 19 points, 12 rebounds and four blocks against the Clovis West Golden Eagles. "I just had to stay physical and aggressive at all times and trust myself," Lavrenov said. Lavrenov earned All-Tournament honors, along with freshman Josiah Andrews, who scored 11 points on Saturday night. One issue that the Thunder had in the contest was turnovers as they totaled 16, including multiple in the final five minutes when the Golden Eagles went on a run to close out the game. Rocklin High had the lead at the end of the first quarter and trailed by two at the end of halftime and the end of the third quarter. "In close games down the stretch, experience matters and our guys are experienced players but they are young," Taylor said. "A lot of them haven't been in this kind of situation. Our turnovers were caused by the pressure we faced and they pressured us the entire game." Junior Kainoa Marasco also played well with 12 points and two steals. The Golden Eagles were led by Issac Martinez and Zach Chauhan, who both scored 14 points. Martinez was named the tournament's Most Valuable Player while Chauhan earned All-Tournament honors. The Thunder are currently 6-2 after finishing last season with a 14-15 record. They are currently playing in the Clovis West Nike Invitational Tournament and will play the Golden Eagles once again on Friday. "I think one of the biggest positives was our students and how they came out to support our team," Taylor said. "We've had a great crowd throughout the whole tournament, better than I can ever remember. Another positive is that we saw that we could play at a high level but we have to be more consistent with defense and take care of the ball better." The NorCal Tip-Off Tournament was played at Whitney High and Rocklin High with the third-place game and the championship game being played at Horton Court at William Jessup University in Rocklin. Del Oro High also competed in the tournament and finished fourth while Whitney High came in sixth.