CYPRESS — The Crean Lutheran boys basketball team came into its Crestview League game against Cypress on Friday with a guaranteed share of first place in the league’s final standings.
The Saints, who are ranked No. 5 in Orange County, went on to prove they were deserving of the league title outright by creating separation early and finishing with six players scoring in double figures for a dominating 76-53 victory over the No. 9 Centurions at Cypress High School.
The league title is the fifth in a row for the Saints (14-11, 6-1), who captured four in a row in the old Empire League, which also included the Centurions (17-10, 3-4), and now their first in the reconfigured Crestview League.
“We just came out ready to go, ready to execute the game plan and just to fight,” Crean Lutheran coach Nate Klitzing said. “We knew that Cypress has been our rival for the last seven years in this league, in our previous league too. We knew we had to come out right away because we knew they were going to be the aggressors. We had to outmatch that and we did.”
Cypress needs a victory in its final league game against Foothill on Tuesday to create a three-way tie for second with No. 6 Canyon (19-9, 4-4) and No. 11 La Habra (20-8, 4-4).
Freshman guard Jordan Ceballos and senior guard Arnez Reynolds each scored 15 points to lead the Saints, and junior forward Jacob Majok scored 14 with 11 rebounds, four blocked shots and a steal.
The Saints, who defeated the Centurions in double-overtime, 69-68 in the teams’ first meeting on Jan. 14, were without their leading scorer, Hunter Caplan, who was sidelined with an injury.
“The first time we played them at our place, we went to double overtime,” Majok said. “So, we just had to step up and bring our effort and just fight as a team. That was the key today, just playing as a team.”
Majok, who is in his second season with the Saints, said his team’s goal was to win a title in the new league and keep the streak going.
“That’s the championship we all look for,” he said. “That’s the standard here at Crean.”
Cypress guard Ryan Gov led all scorers with 23 points.
Cypress guard Ryan Gov (#1) is joined by some of his teammates as he is honored before a game Friday, Jan. 31, for scoring 1,000 points in his career. (Photo by Lou Ponsi)The junior was honored before the game for scoring 1,000 points in his career, a milestone he hit in the Centurions’ 57-53 victory over La Habra on Jan. 24.
The Saints scored the game’s first points and opened the contest on a 22-8 run, thanks to first-quarter 3-pointers from Reynolds, Ceballos, Majok and Will Malual.
Crean Lutheran then closed out the first half on a 6-0 run to take a 20-point lead at the half.
Cypress went on a 6-0 run to get a bit closer, prompting Klitzing to call a timeout.
The Saints went on an 8-0 run after the timeout to go ahead by 25 and then built a 29-point lead, their largest lead of the game, in the fourth quarter.
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