Santa Margarita players and coaches celebrate with the CIF regional championship trophy Saturday night. (Photos courtesy Crean Lutheran Shutterbugs, John Luciano, Wendy Rueter and Ted Rigoni)
Santa Margarita High School’s boys basketball team used a relentless defense and a surging offense to defeat Crean Lutheran 66-53 in the Southern California Regional Division 2AA finals Saturday night before a capacity crowd at Crean Lutheran High.
The Eagles forced 26 Saints turnovers in the game and improved their record to 17-6.
Senior guard Coby Barnes scored 23 points and Rockwell Reynolds added 16 points for the Eagles, who never trailed. Luke Turner also scored 15 points for Santa Margarita, who finished third in the Trinity League this season.
Koat Keat scored 16 points and Michael Birket poured in 15 points for Crean Lutheran, who finish the season at 20-3. The Saints were the CIF 2A champions, bringing home the second CIF title in the sport in school history.
“We played well together and played with intensity,” said Reynolds, a 6-8 sophomore forward. “We never slowed down. I think we got great looks all night and we played great as a team.”
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Leading 30-19 at halftime, the Eagles stormed out of the gate in the third quarter and went on a 19-2 run to open a commanding 49-21 lead. Barnes, Reynolds, and Turner ignited the Santa Margarita scoring blitz. Turner’s basket capped the Eagles surge as the Eagles scored on eight consecutive possessions.
“We executed our game plan and ran good sets and got great shots,” said Barnes. “There was a lot of energy in this building from our fans and we feed off that.”
While the Eagles offense was excelling, the Santa Margarita defense stepped up its efforts as well. The Eagles forced nine Saints turnovers in the quarter and held Crean Lutheran scoreless for 4:22 of the quarter and built a 52-28 lead after three periods.
“We had six losses this season, so we know what it’s like to be down,” said Santa Margarita point guard Jake Blazona. “We played with a lot energy and this team has special chemistry.”
Crean Lutheran, inspired once again by its home fans, did make a late run.
With the game seemingly out of hand, the Saints went on a 15-4 run in the fourth quarter and pulled to within 56-43 following a 3-pointer by Alex Davis with 3:11 to play. However, Reynolds countered with a 3-point play and Turner added a basket as the Eagles silenced the comeback attempt and cruised to the win.
“We played lock down defense and we felt like we had something to prove tonight,” said Turner.
Eagles coach Justin Bell was full of emotion following the win.
“Our seniors and juniors are awesome and we have such a great bunch of kids who bought into what we wanted to do,” said Bell. “The way we came out of the locker room for the second half I think made all of the difference. I’m so proud of these guys.”
Santa Margarita started off the game on a 9-0 run, following a 3-pointer by Barnes. The Saints rallied and cut the lead to 13-8 after the first quarter. Crean Lutheran trimmed it to 13-10 early in the second quarter on Parker Tuttle’s basket but the Eagles exploded on a 17-3 run and took a 30-13 lead, following Barnes’ 3-ponter with 2:11 left in the half. But once again, the Saints rallied and ended the half on a 6-0 run and trailed by 11 at the break.
“They didn’t let us get to our spots and they made us pay for it and I think that led to a lot of turnovers,” said Saints coach Nate Klitzing. “They’re probably the best defensive team we played this season. They were physical and we also didn’t do a god job with the ball.”
“They came out aggressive and put us in a big hole,” said Crean Lutheran senior guard Michael Birket. “In the third quarter they were scoring on every possession and it was too much to overcome.”
The No. 1 seeded Saints, who won the Empire League this season, had their 12-game winning streak snapped.
Klitzing was proud of the team’s title run. The Saints also recorded two victories in the regional.
“It’s been an outstanding season and it seems like it’s been a long season with all of the COVID stuff we’ve had to deal with, but it’s great to be able to put ‘CIF champions’ on the school’s marque,” said Klitzing. “Sports has such a positive influence in our world and I’m grateful that we have such a wonderful administration here at Crean Lutheran who really wanted to uplift the kids to get them back to playing sports.”
Santa Margarita defeated Fresno Bullard and Rolling Hills Prep in the opening rounds of the regional tournament.
The season,. which was delayed because of the coronavirus pandemic, ended on Saturday, June 19 for basketball teams throughout Southern California. Basketball season normally starts in November.
–Tom Connolly, For OC Sports Zone
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