La Habra’s Acen Jimenez drives against Crean Lutheran’s Bryce Coleman as teammate Josh Desatoff sets a screen Friday night. (Photos courtesy Crean Lutheran Shutterbugs, John Luciano).
Senior guard Acen Jimenez scored 30 points, and La Habra drilled 14 3-pointers as the Highlanders defeated Crean Lutheran 69-56 before a roaring hometown crowd in a Crestview League game Friday night.
The Highlanders (16-5, 2-1) came out firing beyond the arc and played aggressive defense, handing Crean Lutheran its first league loss.
To see the slide show, click on the first photo:
PHOTO: Tom Connolly, For OC Sports Zone
Jimenez, a Dartmouth commit, nailed four 3-pointers in the first quarter as La Habra built a 23-8 lead after eight minutes of play.
“We played great defense and that is something we take great pride in,” said Jimenez. “This was a team effort, and it gives us momentum, but we have to remain humble.”
La Habra was undersized but battled successfully throughout the game. Damien Ceballos, Jayden Martinez, Noah Poppin, Richard Gonzales and Jimenez each took turns guarding the Saints 6-11 center Chadrack Mpoyi.
“It was a great bounce-back win,” said Poppin, whose 3-pointer gave the Highlanders their biggest lead of the game at 34-16 at the 2:36 mark of the second quarter. Poppin fouled out of the game with 7:20 to play but his defense gave La Habra a big lift.
Trailing 38-21 at halftime, the Saints, behind the driving force of senior guard Nicholas Giarrusso and Evan Mack, cut the lead to single digits after three periods. Giarrusso and Mack combined to score 13 points in the quarter as Crean Lutheran outscored the Highlanders 20-12 in the quarter and set the stage for an exciting final period.
The Saints (15-6, 2-1) started the fourth quarter on a 9-3 run and gained momentum after cutting the lead to 53-50 on a bucket by Mpoyi with 2:51 remaining.
With a boisterous crowd behind the Highlanders, La Habra scored on its next five possessions getting key baskets from Aaron Wilson, Martinez, Desatoff, and back-to-back 3-pointers by Ceballos that sent the crowd into a frenzy.
“They left me open in the corner, and it was my time to fire, and I let it fly and luckily they went in,” said Ceballos, whose second 3-pointer gave the Highlanders an unsurmountable 66-54 lead with 1:35 left in the game.
“Damien (Ceballos) was the MVP on our freshman and sophomore teams and when he got to varsity he had a different role,” said La Habra Coach Aaron Riekenberg. “He accepted his role as not having to be the high scorer but when his time came, he nailed it. He’s all about winning.”
Wilson, a freshman, was a key factor down the stretch for La Habra, scoring seven points in the fourth quarter.
“This is all new to me; I’ve never been in this kind of environment before; it’s exciting,” said Wilson.
University of Minnesota commit Mpoyi and UC Riverside commit Giarrusso each scored 16 points to lead Crean Lutheran, which had its three-game winning streak snapped. Hunter Caplan also added 11 points for the Saints.
“We didn’t play well as a team; we need to play harder,” said Mpoyi following the game.
Saints Coach Austin Loeb said his team will learn from this game.
“Jimenez and his team set the tone early by hitting all their 3’s and we didn’t adjust,” said Loeb. “But that’s what the league games are for, to get us ready for the playoffs. We will learn from this and will need to play more unselfish. This was a great environment, and they were feeding off their crowd.”
La Habra’s Desatoff summed up his team’s performance.
“I have confidence in this team, and we have heart and this win builds more confidence and momentum,” said Desatoff, who scored 12 points in the game.
NOTES:
—Both coaches Aaron Riekenberg and Austin Loeb, commented on the strength of the Crestview League. “Last year I think the Crestview League, from top to bottom, was the strongest in Orange County but this year I think we’re second behind the Trinity League,” said Riekenberg.
“The Crestview is the best non-Trinity League in the county,” Loeb added. “We have four teams in the top 15 in the county. You can’t take any night off in this league.”
—La Habra AD Paul Caffrey said, “Friday’s win may have been the biggest win of the season. We beat a very good Crean Lutheran team.”
—-Jimenez is headed to play at Dartmouth next season. “I took a trip to Dartmouth (in Hanover, New Hampshire) and fell in love with the place, the community, the academics and the athletics.” Jimenez said. He said he also considered playing at Long Beach State, UC San Diego, Cal Poly SLO, and Georgia State but choose Dartmouth.
—La Habra junior Jayden Garcia sang a beautiful rendition of the National Anthem prior to the game.
—The Highlanders forced 15 Crean Lutheran turnovers and committed only four turnovers themselves.
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