University players celebrate a successful end to the first half Tuesday. (Photos: OC Sports Zone, Tim Burt).
University’s boys basketball team, riding some confidence, after upsetting the No. 2 seed San Marino on the road Friday night, returned to the friendly home confines and defeated Santa Fe 64-55 Tuesday night in the second round of the CIF 4AA playoffs.
The Trojans (14-15) move on to face Garden Grove Friday night at Garden Grove in the quarterfinals.
University was led by senior forward Jad Hajj-Shehadeh, who scored 23 points and grabbed 19 rebounds. He also had five blocks and three steals.
To see the slide show, click on the first picture:
The Trojans led 37-25 at halftime and by 16 going into the final quarter before Santa Fe (12-16) cut the lead to 54-47 on a 3-pointer Jordan Sarinana with 3:44 left. But University regrouped and finished strong to seal the win after a hard-fought, physical battle in front of a large crowd.
“We got the win, I’ll take it anyway,” said Uni Coach Beau Budde. “It was a little rough but the kids showed the will to win. Sometimes, it’s not the skill, it’s the will so we definitely displayed that.
“But Santa Fe is a tough team. I thought they weren’t going to let it be easy for us. So hats off to them.”
Hajj-Shehadeh scored 16 of his points in the first half to give the Trojans a lift.
“He’s been Mr. reliable for us the whole season,” Budde said. “He’s that one person who is always consistent. It’s nice to have that as a coach.”
“We knew their game style so it was easy to pick up on the way they played,” said Hajj-Shehadeh. “Beating the number two seed was a big accomplishment which led to a lot of momentum going into this game, especially being at home. We’re ready for any team, any where.”
University also got strong efforts from Joseph Purser, who had 10 points and Ali Wahedi, who had eight points.
Santa Fe was led by Sarinana who had 17 points, 12 coming in the fourth quarter in which he helped lead the Chiefs’ comeback. Andrew Hernandez added 13 points for Santa Fe.
—Tim Burt, OC Sports Zone; timburt@ocsportszone.com
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