Heritage Christian’s young basketball players are growing up fast
If there was any doubt that this was high school basketball’s freshman year, all you had to do was look at who was on the court Saturday in a sold-out rivalry game between Village Christian and visiting Heritage Christian.
“There were five freshmen there,” Heritage Christian freshman guard Ty Lazenby said.
Make no mistake about the amount of young talent Heritage Christian has at its disposal after a 74-71 victory that ended the Crusaders’ 11-game winning streak.
The Warriors (20-6, 6-2) start with two freshmen and three sophomores. In high school sports, you never know who stays and who goes each year, but Heritage Christian feels good about its group.
“They had to re-register yesterday,” coach Paul Tait said.
Lazenby said: “We’re figuring it out. In two years we’ll be very good.”
On Saturday, Eli Simmons had 18 points and 13 rebounds, and his compatriot Houston Rolle scored 16 points. Lazenby had 15 points. Another freshman, Nalu Clark, the brother of Virginia’s NCAA champion guard Kihei Clark, had seven points and seven assists.
It was left to sophomore Tyler Jackson to put the finishing touches on the victory, hitting a free throw with 11.9 seconds left for a three-point advantage that forced Village Christian standout freshman Will Conroy Jr. to shoot a three to tie the game. That didn’t happen.
Conroy finished with 28 points. The Crusaders got into trouble when they failed to get the ball to Conroy earlier, leading to a turnover and forcing them to foul Jackson.
Village Christian can still win the Olympic League title with a win against Maranatha next week. Heritage Christian encourages Maranatha to produce a three-way tie for first.
Crespi 57, Harvard-Westlake 52: The Celts advanced to the Mission League tournament semifinal Tuesday night at Sherman Oaks Notre Dame by knocking off Harvard-Westlake, which lost for the third time in its last four games. Isaiah Barnes scored 19 points.
Loyola 60, Saint-François 57: Quincy Watson and Deuce Newt each scored 13 runs to help the Cubs keep their playoff hopes alive. They will face top-seeded Sierra Canyon in the semifinals of the Mission League tournament on Tuesday.
Basketball for girls
Ventura 46, Mater Dei 42: Kai Staniland and Emma Anter each scored 13 points in Ventura’s upset of the Monarchs.
Sierra Canyon 73, Oak Park 46: Jerzy Robinson scored 29 points in a game between Open Division teams.
