Cypress survives La Habra’s comeback for Crestview League overtime victory

Gavin Kroll (left) and Ryan Gov led Cypress to a league win Tuesday. (PHOTOS: Tom Connolly, For OC Sports Zone).

Cypress High School’s boys basketball team survived a furious fourth quarter La Habra comeback and then pushed the game into overtime before defeating the Highlanders 64-55 in a Crestview League game before a near capacity crowd Tuesday night at Cypress.

Centurions senior guard Ryan Gov scored 18 points and Gavin Kroll added 13 points as Cypress (15-7, 1-1) outscored La Habra 11-2 in the extra period to snap a two-game losing streak.

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“We had a pretty good scouting report on them, and we followed our game plan,” said Gov, who scored 14 of his 18 points in the first half and played an outstanding defensive game as well. “I think when Emmanuel (Igbekoyi) hit that corner three in OT we felt pretty good. I think to win a game like this shows how much of a bond our team has and how much we trust each other.”

The Centurions opened the fourth quarter with a 43-34 lead and appeared to have the momentum.

However, the Highlanders sparked by Acen Jimenez, Richard Gonzales, Josh Desatoff and Damien Ceballos scored on eight of their first nine possessions of the final period to complete a 17-8 run.

Jimenez’s three foul shots tied the game at 51-51 with 2:02 to play.

Each team scored a bucket in the final two minutes tying the game at 53. The Highlanders nearly won it in regulation as guard Jayden Martinez’s last second shot was just off the mark. Jimenez led all scorers with 23 points. Desatoff also poured in 17 points for the Highlanders.  

The Centurions dominated the overtime session as they scored on six of their seven possessions while holding La Habra (15-5, 1-1) scoreless until the final two seconds.

Senior Cypress forward Emmanuel Igbekoyi nailed a 3-pointer from the corner with 2:13 remaining in OT to give the Centurions a 58-53 lead. After that, Cypress went on a 6-2 run to end the game.

“We got stagnant in the fourth quarter but we grinded it out and got into overtime,” said Cypress Coach Derek Mitchell. “Our seniors really helped handle the pressure of the moment.”

Gov’s two baskets in the final 40 seconds of the opening quarter gave Cypress a 18-14 lead after the first period. Gov added eight points in the second quarter as the Centurions extended their lead to 38-26 at halftime. Neither team shot well in the third quarter as La Habra had an opportunity to close the gap but still trailed 43-34 after three periods.

“Ryan is often overlooked because of his size,” said Mitchell. “He gets into the paint and finishes. This win tonight will help build our confidence.” 

Highlanders Coach Aaron Riekenberg said his team will learn from this game.

“We didn’t follow our game plan in the first half, and we trailed by 12 at halftime,” Riekenberg said. “We made adjustments at halftime, and we got back into the game, and we got good looks in OT, but the shots weren’t falling. We only had two guys out there who really have experience in a game of this nature. The other guys were JV players last year and we had a freshman out there. We’ll learn a good lesson from the is experience.”

Kroll had a strong game on the boards and scored the final four points for the Centurions in overtime to seal the win.

“The difference was our 100 percent rebounding advantage in overtime,” said Kroll. “It took the whole team to come together and win it.”

Teammate Ethan Mai agreed with Kroll.

“We overcame adversity; it’s what we practice every day,” said Mai, a senior guard who scored the first basket in overtime for Cypress. “We expect to win games like this.”           

NOTES:

—La Habra went 3-1 in the Damien basketball tournament over the holidays.

—The Highlanders were without the services of two key players, Derek Soloway and Javier Nash. Nash is out for the season with a knee injury while Soloway is out with a ankle injury. His return is TBD.   

—Cypress went 4-0 at the Torrey Pines Holiday tournament and won their division.