Santa Ana Saints savor non-league victory over crosstown rival Segerstrom Jaguars

Santa Ana players and coaches celebrate a victory Thursday night. (PHOTOS: Tim Burt, OC Sports Zone).

Santa Ana High School’s boys basketball team came out fired up against city rival Segerstrom, led from the start and went on to capture a 49-30 non-league victory Thursday night at Santa Ana.

Jayden Carter scored 21 points (13 in the second half) and Issac Alvarez 17 points to lead the Saints (4-6). Chris Gutierrez led Segerstrom (1-5) with seven points.

“It was a team victory,” said Santa Ana Coach Rick Mares. “All the boys did not let up and came together and they executed in every area of the game. I’m proud of the boys for executing and staying together and staying composed.

“Even when the lead got cut down, the boys didn’t lose focus. They stuck to the plan and executed. It’s always good to win against another Santa Ana team. We’ve lost the last two games (against other opponents this season) so getting back in the win column is always great.”

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Santa Ana led 15-13 after the first quarter and extended the lead to 23-15 at halftime. The Saints held a 35-24 lead after three quarters and, led by their two stars, extended the margin to 18 points late in the game.

“It’s always good when your captains step up, especially in the big games,” Mares said.

Santa Ana players had the game on their calendar.

“I loved it, it was an amazing game, we both competed, we just came out victorious, it’s one of our rivals and we just played out,” Carter said. “We were fired up. When we saw the game on our schedule, we were waiting for this game, we were excited.”

“This means a lot because over the summer I think we played them twice and we lost twice, for us to come back and … blow them out, that’s big, it feels great,” added Alvarez. “It’s very satisfying. Personally, it ranks number one. Against another Santa Ana team, it doesn’t get any better.”

Segerstrom’s first year coach Rex Gonzales credited Santa Ana for coming out strong.

“I was trying to prepare my guys to have this inter-city game, that it means more sometimes in basketball because you see these kids at the park and the local gyms and you see family and friends, they (Santa Ana) just wanted it more,” he said. “Coach Rick had them going, they made a few shots right away and they took the lead and it was hard to get back at them.

“We shot a lot of three’s and they did not fall for us today, the goal for us was to keep working and grinding and figure it out. It’s not the best season we’re having at the moment but we still got to be confident and trust each other, that’s the most important thing.”

Santa Ana was without freshman starting point guard Logan Rivera, who was out ill, Mares said.

“He wanted to be here, we got this win for him as well,” the coach said. “I’m also proud of Aaron Rivera defensively was there and his presence was felt. He was also a defensive leader today.”

—Tim Burt, OC Sports Zone; timburt@ocsportszone.com