La Habra was led by (from left) Acen Jimenez, Josh Desatoff, Hayden Martinez and Damien Ceballos in the win over La Serna. (PHOTO: Tom Connolly, For OC Sports Zone).
La Habra’s boys basketball team built a big lead but then had to hold off a charging La Serna squad before notching a 47-45 victory in a Challenge for CHOC tournament game Friday at Sonora.
La Habra senior guard Acen Jimenez led all scorers with 22 points while teammate Josh Desatoff drilled four 3-pointers and added 14 points as the Highlanders improved their record to 11-3, despite their lowest offensive output of the season.
“We’ve faced a lot of adversity, but we still got the win,” said Jimenez, who was doubled teamed for much of the game but still came through in the clutch, including converting three free throws in the final 1:12 of the game to secure the win. “We still must improve in every category. We’re not where we want to be yet.”
It appeared that the Highlanders were going to cruise to an easy win after Desatoff nailed his fourth 3-pointer of the game early in the second quarter.
Jimenez then added a 3-pointer, giving La Habra a 26-6 lead at the 4:22 mark of the second quarter. However, the Lancers, led by Matthew Altuna and Joshua Stuart, went on a 10-2 run to end the half and trailed 28-16 at the break.
La Habra continued to struggle in the third quarter as the Lancers hung around and drew closer. Micheal Valadez’s two free throws with 1:13 remaining in the third quarter cut the lead to 37-30 after three quarters.
Jayden Martinez’s three baskets gave the Highlanders a lift in the fourth quarter. His bucket with 2:14 left upped La Habra’s lead to 44-37.
“We weren’t getting rebounds, and we were giving them too many multiple chances in the final quarter,” said Martinez, who scored seven points. “We need to continue to play defense and not fall off.”
The Lancers (6-10) would not quit and took advantage of the Highlanders’ offensive slump. Jason Ross scored two baskets and Altuna drilled two 3-pointers in the final 40 seconds, his second 3 with seven seconds to play, cut the lead to 47-45.
La Serna fouled Martinez with one second remaining, and he went to the line. He missed the first free throw and was instructed to purposely miss the second free throw.
After Martinez’s missed his second free throw, Altuna grabbed the rebound and hurled the ball the length of the court. His desperation shot was online but came up a bit short, hitting the bottom of the net, enabling the Highlanders to escape a last second defeat.
“My heart dropped on that last shot; if he makes it, we lose,” said La Habra Coach Aaron Riekenberg. “It’s fair to say that we started out the game strong but fell off midway through the second quarter. We must learn to play four full quarters and avoid the inconsistency. We know what lies ahead for us in the Crestview League and if we play like this, it’s going to come back and bite us.”
La Habra forward Damien Ceballos said the team is happy with the win but the team has more work to do.
“We have to work as a unit,” said Ceballos, who played a strong defensive game as the Highlanders limited its opponent to under 50 points for the sixth time this season. “We have to play solid defense even when our offense is struggling.”
Altuna led the Lancers with 17 points and Ross added nine points as La Serna lost for the fifth time in its last six contests.
“We’ve had some key injuries this season and we’re still trying to find our identity,” said Lancers’ Coach Marino Angulo.
Note:
—Riekenberg said all the proceeds from the tournament ticket sales will be donated to CHOC of Orange County. Most teams participating in the tournament are playing just one game, however Rickenberg indicated that a few teams would play a second game. The Highlanders played only one game in the tournament.
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