Basketball (Boys) | 1/22/2026 8:59:00 AM

The following is the article from The San Diego Union-Tribune, "Cathedral Catholic makes 'one more big play' in Western League win over Mira Mesa."


Freshman Anthony Ali Nayab scored six of his nine points in the fourth quarter, including a pair of game-clinching free throws with 25 seconds to play, and Cathedral Catholic overcame an 11-point deficit and edged Mira Mesa 47-45 on Tuesday night in a key Western League game.

Senior Kai Carlson had a clutch basket and rebound down the stretch for the Dons, who improved to 14-7 overall and 2-1 in league play.

"I'm surprised. I really expected more offense," said Dons coach Graham Bousley. "Mira Mesa is a really solid team. They came out hot, got up by 11 — the same thing they did to us last year. This is the Western League, where anything can happen."

Carlson scored seven points and grabbed six rebounds. It was his basket with 45 seconds to play that broke a 42-42 tie. He then rebounded a Mira Mesa miss, and Ali Nayab made a pair of free throws with 25 seconds left to ice it.

"I expected a high-scoring game," Carlson said. "But in a game like this, you have to take it possession by possession. Every possession counts. Every screen, every rebound counts."



The win for the No. 5-ranked Dons keeps them in the league hunt. Mira Mesa (15-6, 2-1) is ranked No. 9 in the county and would have had a two-game lead over Cathedral Catholic with a win.

"This is as close to a must-win game as there is," Bousley said. "But it's the Western League and it seems like every game is a must. Still, we don't want to go down by two games to Mira Mesa before the end of the first round of league play.

"Kai was so clutch for us. That's why he's a captain. We hit a lot of big shots and both teams played excellent defense."

Mira Mesa sprinted to a 15-6 lead after the first quarter, with Diego Ortiz leading the way with seven points. Cathedral Catholic helped by turning the ball over five times.

The Marauders stretched the advantage to 11 with 6:31 to play in the half, but Cathedral Catholic went on a 13-2 run to tie the game at 23 with 2:39 to play.

Jeremiah McCaleb's 3-pointer was the only score the rest of the first half, and Mira Mesa led 26-23 at the break. The Mauraders turned the ball over four times in the quarter.

The lead changed hands four times in the third quarter with Mira Mesa holding a 39-38 advantage at the end of three, setting up a high-octane final quarter.

Charlie Barajas led Cathedral Catholic with 13 points and 11 rebounds and blocked a shot. Sei'Mir Roberson added eight points. McCaleb paced Mira Mesa with 13 points, while Ortiz and Tim Dorn both added 12.

Dorn also finished with 14 rebounds and blocked a pair of shots.

Mira Mesa shot just six free throws in the name, making one. Cathedral Catholic shot just eight free throws, but made seven.

The Dons turned the ball over 12 times, Mira Mesa 10.

"They wanted to slow us down and did a good job of it," said Mira Mesa coach Jon Pierce. "The last couple of games, we've made one more big play than our opponents.

"Tonight they made one more big play. It's going to be like that in this league."