Etiwanda and Rancho Verde, coached by two students of defensive guru Dave Kleckner, played with the kind of defensive intensity that Kleckner would have appreciated in the semifinals of the North Orange County Tournament in Sonora on Friday night.
After Etiwanda opened a 12-point lead at halftime, Rancho Verde took a one-point lead late in the third quarter thanks to three goals from Charles Knight.
Etiwanda then restored the defensive intensity in the fourth quarter and pulled away for a 63-57 win. Etiwanda (12-0) will play Heritage Christian in Saturday's championship game.
The Eagles' success in the fourth quarter was spearheaded by sophomore Devin Mitchell, who scored six of his 14 points in the period. Etiwanda found itself in trouble at halftime down 35-23, 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 scored 19 points. Knight came out swinging in the second half, making four threes and finishing with 22 points.
Kleckner coached Etiwanda for 28 years before turning the program over to former assistant Daniel Ryan. Rancho Verde coach Braydon Bortolamedi was the boys team coach last season at Etiwanda. It was like watching two teams use the same strategies.
Heritage Christian 45, Anaheim Canyon 42: Dominic Loule scored with 25 seconds left to break the tie and send Heritage Christian into the championship game of the North Orange County Tournament. Lole finished with 16 points.
Santa Margarita 92, Village Christian 85: The Eagles held a double-digit lead into the fourth quarter before Village Christian closed in the game. Braden Cayman scored 24 points and Drew Anderson had 19. Freshman Will Conroy scored 26 points for Village Christian.
Cree 79, Brooklyn (NY) Eagles II 72: Cayman Martin finished with 17 points and 10 rebounds for Crespi at St. Joseph's Stadium in Santa Maria.
St. Francis 68, La Salle 54: Sheriff Millogo led St. Francis with 27 points, 15 rebounds and seven blocked shots.
Meridian (ibid.) Owyhee 53, Damien 47: In Idaho, the Spartans resisted before falling. Eli Garner had 22 points and 10 rebounds.
Cypress 75, Orange Lutheran 66: Gavin Kroll finished with 25 points for Cypress.
Moorpark 70, Westlake 64: Logan Stotts scored 25 points for Moorpark.
Venice 60, Fairfax 50: The Gondoliers won an important victory in the Western League. A'Jonn Mitchell finished with 25 points for Venice.
Archbishop San Francisco Riordan 89, Inglewood 84: Jason Crow Jr. scored 23 points and Kayim White had 21 points for Inglewood.
St. Bernard 75, El Cajon Christian 53: Brandon Granger scored 33 points and Chris Rupert scored 17 points for St. Bernard.
Loyola 64, Stockton St. Mary's 46: Matthai Carter scored 19 points for Loyola.
Potomac (Maryland) Bullis 70, Redondo Union 62: At DeMatha, Redondo Union got 14 points from Chris Sanders for the loss.
