Mission Bay improved its record to 15-5 after a dramatic 62-60 road victory over San Diego High on Jan. 13 in what has turned out to be an even better start than last season when the Bucs went 14-6 after the first 20 games. The third and fourth quarters turned into a back-and-forth affair after an evenly played first half with Mission Bay closing it out at the end by holding back a late run from the Cavers.

“It’s been a good season and we have a good group of guys who like each other,” said Mission Bay head coach Marshawn Cherry. “I like how everyone steps up and contributes and our goal is to get 20 wins.”

In order to get those 20 victories, the Bucs have to win five of their eight remaining regular season matches, five of which are at home and all but one is a non-league game.

“The other goal is to be a top-four seed in the Open Division so we get a home game,” Cherry added.

Mission Bay is in this position after an impressive start to the season where it won five of its first six games. After a home loss to Carlsbad, the Bucs bounced back and went on a six-game winning streak that included defeating Carlsbad 55-52 on Dec. 23. Since then, Mission Bay has won four of their last seven matches and is currently riding a three-game undefeated streak. Their next opponent is Hoover on Jan. 17 which enters the game with a 9-8 record.

“Hoover High is tough,” said Cherry. “They are well-coached, they play hard and I think they’re a lot better than their record indicates, but they have a good team and I think it will be a good game.”

This will be the first of two meetings between the Bucs and the Cardinal with the next one coming at home on Feb. 7. Mission Bay closes out the regular season at St. Augustine on Feb. 10. The last time St. Augustine and Mission Bay faced each other was in the quarterfinal round of the 2022 CIF playoffs where the Bucs fell 84-43 after finishing the season with a 19-8 record. Mission Bay hopes to end this season as it did in 2018 when the team was crowned CIF San Diego Open Division champions.