Here are five things I learned from watching last Friday’s Marmonte League showdown between the boys’ basketball teams from Calabasas and Thousand Oaks high schools, a thriller won by the Coyotes, 90-77:

Thousand Oaks High remains the area’s premier hoops venue

For a big game—and this was definitely a big game between a pair of ranked teams with legitimate league title aspirations—the gym at TOHS is an electric environment without peer in the Conejo Valley.

The place was jam-packed halfway through the junior varsity game, which precedes the varsity contest. From the get-go, Thousand Oaks’ vibrant student section, the Green Hole, wasted little time ripping off classic chants and giving the Coyote players and students the business.

But Calabasas’ crew, The Pack, was equally as impressive. Traveling in large numbers, The Pack answered every Green Hole challenge with a little something of their own—the CHS cheerleaders led the charge.

The back-and-forth banter between the two student sections got the players’ attention.

“This place is crazy,” said Coyote junior guard Lenard Gorokhov, who tallied 13 points in victory. “The first second I got out on the floor, I knew it was going to be a great time. I love it in here.”

Calabasas’ Jordan Coleman is a premier player

At times, the Coyote senior guard completely took over on offense, which is a tough task against a defense as good as Thousand Oaks’ unit.

Coleman, a University of Hawaii commit, finished with a season-high 38 points, including four spectacular, rim-rattling dunks.

In addition, he was 11-of-13 from the free-throw line.

“There was a lot of talk about (the Lancers) being the best team in the valley,” Coleman said. “But we thought the game was going to be pretty evenly matched, and we wanted to make a statement that we were the better team.”

Entering Wednesday’s matchup against Newbury Park, the 6-foot-4, silky-smooth shooting guard was averaging 20.7 points and 2.9 steals per game.

Coleman can beat defenders off the dribble or from beyond the 3-point line. The guy is worth the price of admission and may be the best local basketball player to hit the hardwood since Kareem Maddox was dominating at Oak Park a few years back.

Missed free throws are hurting Thousand Oaks

The Lancers have been surprisingly inconsistent from the charity stripe all season. Against Calabasas, they were awful.

Thousand Oaks went 22-of-37 (59.4 percent) shooting freethrows. His team’s inability to convert foul shots had TOHS head coach Richard Endres shaking his head all night long.

“We’re trying to come back in a game where we’re getting our rear-ends handed to us, and we started to do a couple of things right, but we get to the free-throw line and we don’t give ourselves a chance to come back,” the coach said.

“There were chances to put points on the board without the clock running, and we couldn’t do it. That’s discouraging.”

Endres had no answer for his team’s season-long rollercoaster ride from the stripe.

“There have been big differences from night to night,” he said. “How do you explain that? Same gym, same ball, same kids. It’s one of those unexplainable things.”

Champions play until the final whistle

Thousand Oaks is a defending league and section title winner.

The Lancers play the game with poise and passion that is often unmatched. At home, they rarely lose, having gone 10-1 at TOHS last season.

It came as somewhat of a shock, then, when Calabasas took a 64-29 lead with 2:25 remaining in the third quarter. The Lancers were down 35 points and in danger of facing a running clock— basically a mercy rule situation— when TOHS mounted a comeback that would draw them within 12 points of Calabasas with three minutes left in regulation.

The Lancers’ late charge ultimately fell short, but the team’s desire to win was on full display.

“We still have to go to their place for a game,” Lancer senior forward Alex Tiffin said. “We had to show them that we could come back and fight.”

Rematch could determine league title

These two teams meet again Feb. 6 at Calabasas. While it won’t be the regular-season finale for either squad, Thousand Oaks may need a win to garner even a share of the Marmonte League crown.

Red-hot Calabasas entered Wednesday’s action with 15-2 overall record and a 5-0 mark in league play. The Coyotes beat Westlake 56-40 on Monday.

Thousand Oaks was 13-4 overall and 4-1 in the Marmonte as it headed to Royal on Wednesday.

If each team stays the course and avoids costly injuries, the stakes will be sky high for the rematch.

Stephen Dorman is the Acorn’s sports editor.