San Diego Clippers lose to Mexico City Capitanes 113-106
Credit: Aaron Brenner/ EVT Sports
Oceanside, California
The San Diego Clippers came into Sunday evening needing a win to even have a chance at the playoffs. They came up just short in their rematch with the Mexico City Capitanes.
In the last game, Mexico City’s David Jones had 51 points and eight rebounds in the Capitanes win. Last game for the Clippers they were led by Trentyn Flowers with 22 points and Jalen Adaway with 21 points.
The Clippers game plan certainly included shutting down David Jones, “we shut off David Jones and we’ll be good, “ Trentyn Flowers said after Friday night’s loss to the Capitanes. After tonight’s game, Patrick Baldwin Jr. said the game plan was “sticking to us; I think when he had 51, we weren’t sticking to what we do well, and we’re taught.” Jones ended up with (only) 35 points in tonight’s contest.
The Clippers started the game strong, forcing the Capitanes into tough shots and turnovers. They brought their defense from Friday night to Sunday Night’s game. The Clippers managed to keep David Jones in check in the first quarter. Jones managed to score 13 in the period. The Clippers were led by Izaiah Brockington and Patrick Baldwin Jr. in the first with eight points each. Mexico City led at the break 29-23.
The game stayed close in the second quarter. Trentyn Flowers was creating shots and making them to keep the Clippers in the game. Mexico City managed to retain their lead with timely three-point shots. They were a scorching 6/10 at one point in the second quarter. Mexico City entered halftime up 60-57.
The game started to get physical in the second half. Multiple fouls were called against each team ranging from hard screens to physical contests at the rim. The Clippers were outrebounded in the first half and didn’t turn Mexico City over as much as Friday night.
Patrick Baldwin Jr. and Trentyn Flowers hit shots for the Clippers, but Mexico City had an answer every time. Each team lost and regained the lead multiple times throughout the quarter. The Capitanes scored the last bucket and took a 60-57 lead into halftime. David Jones had 19 points in the first half for the Capitanes, and Izaiah Brockington scored 13 points for the Clippers.
Coming out of the half, both teams were ice-cold. The Clippers couldn’t hit shots, and the Capitanes turned over the ball on multiple possessions. Both teams only scored four points in the first five minutes of the period. Mexico City found its groove midway through the quarter and opened up an 11-point lead by the end of the frame. Friday night’s hero, David Jones, scored 25 points in the quarter.
The fourth quarter looked like it might be more of the same as the third. The Clippers, however, found some scoring rhythm. They started to cut into Mexico City’s lead. Play started getting chippy once the comeback was on for the Clippers. The feeling around the arena shifted, and “the intensity kicked up from both sides,” Patrick Baldwin Jr. said after the game.
A hard layup contest ended up with a Mexico City player on the floor, and a small scrum broke out. Pushes and shoves occurred between both teams, and a fight almost seemed imminent. All the players were separated by their respective coaching staff, and the officials went to the monitor for review. The scuffle only resulted in a double technical foul, one on each side. This skirmish sparked the Clippers and Trentyn Flowers to cut into the lead. Flowers scored multiple tough buckets to trim the lead all the way down to three points with under two minutes left, “we had a group that was going, and Trent found some tough ones,” Baldwin Jr said, looking back on the fourth quarter after the game.
That was as close as the Clippers would get. The Clippers ran out of shots and started to foul to extend the game. Mexico City hit their free throws, and that sealed the game. Trentyn Flowers scored 28 points and Patrick Baldwin Jr. contributed 18 points for the Clippers tonight.
The Clippers’ effort should not be in question from tonight’s game. Patrick Baldwin Jr. felt “really proud of how we finished, but we need to keep that up the whole game.” The Mexico City Capitanes found ways to make shots when it mattered down the stretch and secured a 113-106 win in Oceanside.
The Clippers play their second-to-last home game on Tuesday at 7 pm against the Rio Grande Valley Vipers.
A Southern California kid from San Clemente, he attended Gonzaga University and obtained a degree in sports management with minors in digital marketing and public relations. Max has been a San Diego sports fan for life.