High school basketball roundup: Etiwanda holds off Rancho Verde
Etiwanda and Rancho Verde, coached by two disciples of defensive guru Dave Kleckner, came out with the kind of defensive intensity Kleckner would have appreciated in the North Orange County tournament semifinals in Sonora Friday night.
After Etiwanda opened a 12-point halftime lead, Rancho Verde took a one-point lead late in the third quarter on a Charles Knight three-and-out.
Then Etiwanda regained its defensive intensity in the fourth quarter to win 63-57. Etiwanda (12-0) will face Heritage Christian in Saturday’s championship game.
Sparking the fourth-quarter run for the Eagles was sophomore Devin Mitchell, who scored six of his 14 points in the period. Etiwanda got into trouble after a 35-23 halftime lead by committing five fouls in the first four minutes of the second half. Semaj Carter made eight straight free throws for Rancho Verde (8-2) and finished with 19 points. Knight heated up in the second half, making four threes and finishing with 22 points.
Kleckner coached at Etiwanda for 28 years before handing the program over to former assistant Daniel Ryan. Rancho Verde coach Braydon Bortolamedi was the junior varsity coach last season at Etiwanda. So it was like watching two teams use identical strategies.
Heritage Christian 45, Anaheim Canyon 42: Dominic Loehle made a basket with 25 seconds left to break a tie and propel Heritage Christian into the championship game of the North Orange County Tournament. Loehle finished with 16 points.
Santa Margarita 92, Christian Village 85: The Eagles led by double digits in the fourth quarter before Village Christian came close. Brayden Kyman scored 24 points and Drew Anderson 19. Freshman Will Conroy had 26 points for Village Christian.
Crespi 79, Brooklyn (NY) Eagle Academy II 72: Cayman Martin finished with 17 points and 10 rebounds for Crespi at St. Joseph in Santa Maria.
Saint Francis 68, Room 54: Cherif Millogo led St. Francis with 27 points, 15 rebounds and seven blocks.
Meridian (Id.) Owyhee 53, Damien 47: In Idaho, the Spartans fought and fell. Eli Garner had 22 points and 10 rebounds.
Cypress 75, Lutheran Orange 66: Gavin Kroll finished with 25 points for Cypress.
Moorpark 70, Westlake 64: Logan Stotts had 25 points for Moorpark.
Venice 60, Fairfax 50: The Gondoliers earned an important win in the WHL. A’Jonn Mitchell finished with 25 points for Venice.
Mgr Riordan, 89, Archbishop of San Francisco, 84, Inglewood: Jason Crowe Jr. scored 23 points and Cayim White 21 points for Inglewood.
Saint-Bernard 75, El Cajon Christian 53: Brandon Granger had 33 points and Chris Rupert scored 17 points for St. Bernard.
Loyola 64, Stockton St. Mary’s 46: Mattai Carter had 19 points for Loyola.
Potomac (Md.) Bullis 70, Redondo Union 62: At DeMatha, Redondo Union received 14 points from Chris Sanders in a loss.
