BOYS: Patriots win tenth straight game
- Updated: January 4, 2020
Santana's Alden Rasmussen goes up with the ball on Friday night. / photo by Ken Todd
Santana in action on Friday against Coral Academy of Science Las Vegas at the Santana New Year’s Classic. / photo by Ken Todd
2019 EAST COUNTY PREP BOYS BASKETBALL
EastCountySports.com staff report
ESCONDIDO – The 14th-ranked Christian High Patriots won their 10th game in-a-row by defeating Vista, 61-57, in a tournament game on Friday.
It was a great push in the last minutes of the game that provided the Patriots’ win. Christian rallied late after being down by five, 26-21, at the half.
It was a physical and scrappy game but both teams shot the ball well behind the arc.
Kobe Sanders led the Patriots in scoring, finishing with 15 points and eight rebounds. His four points in the final two minutes of the game extended Christian’s lead to 60-51 with under a minute to play.
Dasean Lynch came out of the half shooting the ball lights out from three, knocking down clutch shots in the third quarter. He finished with 14 points, including a trio of three-pointers in the third quarter.
Jake Tawhiao added 11 points and four steals for the Patriots, who improved to 13-2.
The Pats face a tough opponent tomorrow against the sixth-ranked Poway Titans.
Vinny Signorelli added a three-pointer in the third quarter for CHS.
The score was tied at 5-all just midway through the first quarter. Vista led 15-12 at the end of the first quarter.
The Panthers led by four early in the fourth quarter when Lynch eventually gave the Patriots the lead, 50-49.
GRANITE HILLS 79, VICTORY CHRISTIAN 31 – Caleb Erickson had the best offensive game of his career, scoring 16 points, and John Yakou led the Eagles with 22 points.
Deon Spear contributed 10 points and five assists for Granite Hills, which improved to 5-8 overall.
Erickson made a trio of three-pointers, making five of his seven field-goal attempts in the contest. He also was 3-of-3 from the free-throw line.
Yakou added a pair of treys.
Karter Brown had nine points for Granite Hills, including a three-pointer.
McKay Roberts led Granite Hills with five assists.
Granite Hills had 49 total rebounds.
FOOTHILLS CHRISTIAN 67, SANTA FE CHRISTIAN 58 – Yale-bound senior Yassine Gharram had 27 points, 11 rebounds, and eight assists for the third-ranked Knights, who won their Coastal League opener against the Eagles.
.@FCHSBBALL with a hard-fought win over @SFCEagles in Coastal League Opener. Both teams have some special players like @yassinegharram1 & @samdudley111. Teams play again on 1/29. pic.twitter.com/PP5TRaPMEg
— Troy Hirsch (@troyhirschfox5) January 4, 2020
MISSION VISTA 59, EL CAPITAN 52 – Jake Pfitzner had 22 points on 7-of-12 shooting, including a trio of three-pointers, but the Vaqueros fell to visiting Mission Vista on Friday.
The Vaqueros trailed 26-15 at the end of the first quarter.
“We got off to a slow start once again,” El Capitan head coach Elias Totah said. “We found the energy mid-way through the second quarter. I was pleased with our fight, but we cannot allow teams to jump on us the way that we do.”
Pfitzner added three rebounds and two assists. He also connected on 3-of-6 shots from behind the arc.
“We missed (nine) free throws,” Pfitzner said. “If we would’ve made them, we would’ve either won or tied the game,” Pfitzner said.
El Cap cut the deficit to four and then later just a bucket in the fourth quarter.
“We had every opportunity to win but just didn’t execute in critical situations,” Totah said. “Jake Pfitzner is really putting the team on his shoulders on the offensive end. I don’t think he came out of the game tonight. I have all the confidence in the world in him that he can play an entire basketball game because we have conditioned for it. I was very pleased with his efforts.”
Santana High junior Carson Burton goes up with the ball on Friday. / photo by Ken Todd
SANTANA 59, CORAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCE LAS VEGAS 47 – The Sultans won for just the third time this season with the win over the Falcons at the Santana New Year’s Classic.
No scoring information was reported.
The Sultans will host Adelanto on Saturday at 6 p.m. in another tournament contest.
VALHALLA 81, PACIFIC RIDGE 49 – The Norsemen knocked off the Firebird at the Santana New Year’s Classic for their fifth win of the year.
Valhalla will play Coral Academy of Science Las Vegas on Saturday at 3 p.m. at the Santana New Year’s Classic.
ADELANTO 78, MOUNT MIGUEL 39 – The Matadors fell to the Saints at the Santana New Year’s Classic.
Adelanto improved to 14-2 while the Matadors remained winless, now falling to 0-9 on the season.
The Matadors will face Victory Christian Academy at 1:30 on Saturday at the Santana New Year’s Classic.
