MONTEREY, La. &045; At halftime, things didn’t look so good for the Cathedral boys.

In their first game of the season, the Green Wave hadn’t been able to even slow down the Monterey frontline. But things changed after the halftime break, and Cathedral stormed back to win the game 56-52.

&uot;We started off sluggish, but in the second half I thought we got better and got some big plays,&uot; Cathedral’s Matt Goss said.

Coming out of the locker room, Cathedral changed its defense to a 1-3-1 zone and found an offensive leader in Matt Goss, who almost singlehandedly led his team to its first lead of the game, a 31-30 advantage early in the third quarter.

In that quarter, Cathedral outscored Monterey 20-9.

&uot;It was our first game, and we played like you usually play in a first game in that first half,&uot; Cathedral head coach Peter Arnold said. &uot;We got more aggressive with our defense and started denying up top, and we got a big enough lead to hold on to it at the end.&uot;

The Green Wave started the second half with a 9-0 run, getting their offense going and shutting down the Wolves.

&uot;We just couldn’t handle the pressure they put us on once we got that lead,&uot; Monterey head coach Robert Taylor said. &uot;This is a young team, and that’s just something we’re not very good at yet.&uot;

The change in defense slowed Monterey post player Matt Shively, who had scored 18 points in the first half. He ended the game with 31, but received little help from his teammates, none of whom scored more than seven. Only five Wolves scored at all.

&uot;I’m glad (Matt) had a good day, but we need to find a way to spread it around it more,&uot; Taylor said.

Goss’ three-pointer with a minute remaining gave Cathedral a 52-46 lead and appeared to seal up the victory. But Shively scored seconds later and then Monterey forced Cathedral into a turnover. But Cathedral freshman Parker Brumfield stepped in front of the inbounds pass and Green Wave players hit four of their six free-throw attempts in the final 38 seconds to seal the victory. Monterey’s Landon White hit a three-pointer to bring the Wolves within three at 55-52, but Goss hit the first of two free throws with three seconds left to secure the win.

Brumfield and fellow freshman Andy Lucas both played big minutes for the Green Wave off the bench. Brumfield’s defense and ball-handling and Lucas’ low-post play were crucial to the victory.

&uot;Parker Brumfield and Andy Lucas are guys you are going to be seeing a lot of if we’re going to win this year,&uot; Goss said. &uot;We need someone to come off the bench and do some things for us.&uot;

Goss led the Green Wave with 21 points. Alex Middleton had 13 and Clay Pennington had 12.

Monterey girls 47, Cathedral 36

Cathedral’s girls weren’t so lucky.

After storming back from an early deficit to get a 17-16 halftime lead, foul trouble and an inability to slow down Monterey doomed the Lady Green Wave to a 47-36 loss.

Cathedral held the game close for the first three quarters, trailing 29-23 at the end of the third period. But the team fell apart in a foul-plagued fourth quarter in which the Lady Green Wave was outscored 18-13.

Fouls dominated the game, with each team entering the double bonus with several minutes left in both halves.

Cathedral’s Mattie Smith sat out the entire second quarter and parts of the third and fourth after picking up three fouls in the opening period. Several other players from both teams were in danger of fouling out in the game,

&uot;We didn’t mean to foul. We tried not to,&uot; Monterey’s Morgan White said. &uot;We just get in such a hurry to get down the floor sometimes that happens.&uot;

&uot;I like where my team is,&uot; Monterey head coach Cary Shively said. &uot;We’re getting better every game. We’re looking to do more things offensively than we were earlier in the season.&uot;