Crean Lutheran’s Chadrack Mpoyi fires a 3-pointer as Damien’s Kameron Dodson defends Saturday night. (Photos courtesy John Luciano, For OC Sports Zone).
After one half of Saturday night’s CIF Division I So Cal regional semifinal against No. 6 Damien, it appeared that Crean Lutheran’s boys basketball team was on its way to an appearance in the regional final Tuesday.
The No. 7-seeded Saints led 32-19 and everything was going their way. The Saints extended their lead to 15 points early in the third quarter.
Then, the game changed dramatically in front of a big crowd at Damien. The Spartans fans were loud from the start, and got even louder when their team got going in the second half.
Damien outscored the Saints 30-12 in the second half and went on to win 49-44 to earn a spot in Tuesday’s So Cal final against No. 4 St. John Bosco, which defeated Mater Dei 75-71 in overtime. The winner advances to the state final in Sacramento next weekend.
To see the slide show, click on the first photo:
PHOTO: Tim Burt, OC Sports Zone
Damien (30-7) was led by Elijah Smith, who scored 18 points including 13 in the second half. Eli Garner had 13 points and Zaire Rasshan added 11 points and three 3-pointers for the Spartans.
Damien is looking to bring home a third CIF state for the program.
Hunter Caplan (16 points) and Chadrack Mpoyi (12 points) were the only two Crean Lutheran players who scored in double figures. Caplan had 11 of his points in the first half to help Crean Lutheran take a big lead.
Caden Jones added eight points, all in the first half, for Crean Lutheran (28-8). The Saints had a nine-game winning streak snapped.
Crean Lutheran, which a week earlier won the CIF Division 1 crown at Toyota Arena, had hopes of reaching the So Cal final and earning a berth in the state final.
“They hit some big three’s and they started crashing the O-boards and it was tough for us in that third and fourth quarter to get backside rebounds,” said Crean Lutheran Coach Austin Loeb after a lengthy meeting with his players. “Our zone was doing such a great job that first half on contested shots, getting O-boards gave them extra possessions and let their crowd get into it and they hit some big shots.
“Kudos to them, they played with a lot of composure, they played tough and it’s something that is a tough pill to swallow, it’s probably the toughest environment we’ve played in.
“This loss doesn’t take away anything from this group and I’m extremely proud of our seniors and this group and the run and the accomplishments they’ve been on and the way they’ve glorified God and glorified our school and our program and our community, I’m extremely proud of them and proud of these seniors for the effort they’ve given and the impact they’ve made. It was an extremely special class of seniors and the lessons they learned and the success they had will take them throughout life.
“They picked themselves off the court after defeat, just having that sportsmanship and the ability to shake their hands and hold their heads high and walk out of here.”
Crean Lutheran held on to a 40-38 lead after three quarters but Damien tied the game early in the fourth quarter 40-40 on a basket by Garner.
Sammy Franco hit a 3-pointer to push Damien’s lead to 45-40 in the final minutes. Two free throws by Smith with 18 seconds left gave Damien a 47-42 lead. Caplan sank two free throws with 10 seconds left but Smith countered with two more free throws to seal the win.
The Spartans outscored the Saints 11-4 in the fourth quarter. The Spartans defense toughened up making it tough for Crean Lutheran.
“There’s no simple explanation, we had to change the tempo of the game because we weren’t making anything at half court,” said long-time Damien Coach Michael LeDuc. “We did, we controlled the tempo in the second half which involved them not getting the ball where they were getting it in the first half. I think they scored 12 points in the second half, two of them were on the last free throws, there were 10 seconds left.
“We played defense the way we scouted to play defense in the second half and they missed shots in the second half and we made a few and when we got back in it and we had the momentum then you obviously having a little bit different game when you get the momentum going.”
As the buzzer sounded, the Spartans raced to join their student fans while the Saints dealt with the tough loss.
“I hate to lose any game,” said Caplan, Crean Lutheran’s junior guard. “But especially this game with that much meaning, I love this team, I love our coaching staff, I just wanted to keep on playing with them and keep going until the ultimate goal, which is a state championship. Besides all that, this team changed my life, it was a total blessing and I’m just forever thankful for my time, I love this team, I love this group. It’s more than a team for me, they’re my family, my brothers. I’m never forgetting this team and I’m just so thankful I got to be a part of it.”
Caplan said “he lives” for playing in an environment like that at Damien, where the stands were packed and fans very loud.
“I loved it, it was rough, it kind of started getting to us a little bit, we had some costly turnovers and missed rebounds in that third and fourth quarter that propelled them, it happens, nothing we can do it about it now, but I loved the environment, they were great,” he said. “They brought a great fan base, we did too. I’m just so thankful for everyone who showed up, for the Blue Zone, my team and my coaches.
“We lost, but we’re still champions, we had four new guys playing, three transfers, a whole new coaching staff, but we’re champions, we still went out and did that, so I’m forever thankful.”
—Tim Burt, OC Sports Zone; timburt@ocsportszone.com
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