Malibu High boys basketball player Dylan Goosen drives to the basket in a game earlier this season. Photo by McKenzie Jackson
Malibu High boys basketball player Dylan Goosen dribbled down the court and drained an open three-point shot in the opening moments of the Sharks’ home basketball contest against TEACH Tech Charter on Jan. 12.
The junior guard wasn’t done scoring. Goosen splashed more triples, finished forays to the hoop with layups, and knocked down jump shots throughout Malibu’s 68-55 win. The 16-year-old finished the game with a season-high 51 points.
Goosen, who has played basketball since he was 5, said he has never had a scoring outburst like that.
“I started off mostly with some threes,” he said. “I rode that.”
Dylan’s dad, Malibu head coach David Goosen, knew early in the Sharks’ victory his son was going to have a high-scoring contest.
“He was in the zone,” the coach recalled. “He was locked in ready to go. I could just see it in his body language. I knew he was going to have a good game.”
The younger Goosen finished the first quarter with around a dozen points. At halftime, he had 31. Halfway through the fourth quarter, Dylan had 44 points, and coach Goosen was ready to sub him out of the game since the Sharks’ win was almost secured, but assistant coach Nick Kaplinsksy convinced him to let Dylan try to score 50 points. So, the scorer stayed in the contest.
Goosen made a foul shot. Then, he hit a three. Goosen then nailed another triple to finish his night at 51 points.
Goosen said he is focused on winning games. He aims to do that by getting his teammates opportunities to score, either by passing them the ball or drawing more than one defender to him because of his scoring progress.
Goosen also grabbed five rebounds, had six steals, and dished out five assists in the Sharks’ triumph. Sharks freshman forward Morgan Donnelly snagged 10 rebounds, had seven steals, and scored nine points.
Goosen has four games of 40 points or more this season. He tallied 41 points in a win over Vaughn High on Jan. 6. Three days earlier, Goosen rang up 48 points in a 80-70 loss to Sun Valley Magnet.
His dad noted that Dylan had a game last season as sophomore at Northridge Academy in which he hit 10 threes and scored 36 points but said the 51-point outing was Dylan’s best game ever.
Goosen had 25 points early in the second half of Malibu’s loss to Valor Academy when he injured his tailbone and left the contest.
Goosen didn’t play in his team’s 61-33 loss to Carpinteria the next day. Instead, he cheered his teammates on from the sideline.
“I really wanted to play,” Goosen said, “but I had to listen to my body.”
The junior came back with a scoring vengeance against TEACH Tech Charter and has continued his high-scoring ways since. Goosen scored 26 points in Malibu’s 50-41 loss to East College Prep in a tournament at Louisville High in Woodland Hills on Dec. 15.
The next day, he tallied 39 points, five rebounds, and five steals in the Sharks’ 47-44 victory over Hueneme. His scores included a 3-point make from around 35 feet away from the basket late in the game.
In his team’s 66-54 loss to Community Charter on Dec. 17, Goosen rang up 36 points, seven assists, six rebounds, and six steals. He also reached 1,000 career high school points.
Donnelly had 14 points and 10 rebounds in he contest.
Goosen scored 43 points and had five assists, five rebounds, and nine steals in Malibu’s 69-29 win over Magnolia Academy on Jan. 19.
Freshman Shark Nickau Webb scored 11 points also.
Goosen’s good shooting isn’t a matter of luck. He shoots daily on his basketball goal at home. He also worked with a trainer last summer to get stronger.
“He has been really dedicated and focused to be the best player he can be,” David Goosen said about his son.
The Sharks entered Tuesday’s game against Nordoff with a 4-9 record. They play at Santa Paula on Thursday, Jan. 25, and host Carpinteria on Friday, Jan. 26, at 5 p.m. Malibu plays at Hueneme on Jan. 29 and at Fillmore the next day. The Sharks host Channel Islands on Feb. 1 to close the regular season.
The younger Goosen wants Malibu to continue improving.
“I want to keep winning games,” he said. “I want us to be as good as we can be.”