La Habra was led to the victory Friday by (from left) Jaedon Anderson, Christian Howlin and Acen Jimenez. (PHOTOS: Tom Connolly, For OC Sports Zone).
Before Friday’s Crestview League boys basketball opener coaches for La Habra and Cypress emphasized how tough the league is and how they expect a battle every night.
It turned out to be an accurate assessment.
The Highlanders built an 18-point first half lead but then had to rally and come-from-behind to defeat the Centurions 74-65 at La Habra.
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Jaedon Anderson and Acen Jimenez each scored 21 points apiece to lead the Highlanders (17-4, 1-0) to their third consecutive win.
“Our environment and our fans are so supportive, and they give us so much energy,” said Anderson, who scored 11 points in the final quarter, including three crucial 3-pointers. “We need to carry this type of play, especially our defense, through league play.”
Anderson sank two free throws to give the Highlanders a 28-10 lead at the 4:14 mark of the second quarter. He added a 3-pointer in the final minute of the quarter to propel La Habra to a 35-19 halftime lead.
However, the Centurions came out on fire in the third quarter, led by Ryan Gov’s 13 points and quickly changed the tide of the game. Grant Roberts, Emmanuel Igbekoyi and Isaac Vergara also drilled clutch baskets as the Centurions outscored La Habra 28-14 in the quarter and trimmed the Highlanders lead to 49-47.
In the opening seconds of the final quarter, Gov’s 3-pointer gave Cypress its first lead, 50-49, since early in the first quarter. But the Highlanders kept their poise. Christian Howlin hit back-to-back 3-pointers to give La Habra 57-52 lead with 5:04 left. Anderson then drilled three 3-pointers that gave the Highlanders breathing room and a slim 67-60 lead with 3:49 to play.
“We kept playing tough defense and we hit some big shots that gave us a lot of energy,” said Howlin. “It’s an amazing win.”
Jimenez was thrilled with the win.
“It’s good to get the first league win,” said Jimenez, who was limited to one basket in the second half but made six critical free throws. “They hung 28 points on us in the third quarter but that’s all right because we came back and won. Our team has so much heart, it’s amazing.”
Vergara’s basket cut La Habra’s lead to 69-65 with 46 seconds remaining. But Jimenez and Sebastain Esparaza combined to convert three free throws and Anderson added a basket in the final 30 seconds to secure the win and hold off the hard charging Centurions.
“I’m proud of our team; they are battled tested and have a lot of experience,” said La Habra Coach Aaron Riekenberg. “Anderson is a four-year starter; Jimenez is a three-year starter and guys like Sebastian (Esparza) are tough and they’ve been tested. These guys have been here before and they are built for games like this.”
Cypress Coach Derek Mitchell praised his team for its efforts.
“Our guys proved they are up to the challenge; they never quit,” said Mitchell. “At halftime, we made adjustments and made an attitude adjustment as well. I was happy with our defense. Jimenez is a great player, and we held him to one basket in the second half.
Gov led Cypress with 26 points and Vergara scored 11 and King Birdsong added 10 points. Baylor Wilks scored nine points and Howlin added eight points for La Habra. The Highlanders made 10 3- pointers, including five by Anderson.
Notes:
—-La Habra is celebrating its 70th school year. The school opened in 1954.
—-La Habra senior Jaedon Anderson and junior Acen Jimenez were honored before the game and each presented with a commemorative basketball recognizing their 1,000th point that each player scored earlier this season.
—La Habra senior Kaia Fritter sang an outstanding rendition of the National Anthem before the start of Friday’s game.
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