Boys’ Basketball: Sage Hill routs Warriors
One positive for the Sage Hill School boys’ basketball team playing on the road on a Saturday night was it listened to a live band.
The band played more during the pregame warmups than in the actual Academy League game against Brethren Christian. Sage Hill quieted the band, and the Warriors.
Sage Hill provided most of the entertainment in a 71-43 rout of Brethren Christian at Ocean View High.
Behind a balanced attack, the Lightning (12-4, 3-1 in league) kept the Warriors winless in league. Sage Hill had three players — Greg Park (16 points), Dominic Sadeghi (15) and Max Nanula (10) — finish in double figures.
From the onset, Sage Hill, ranked No. 8 in the CIF Southern Section Division 4A poll, took control. The visitors scored eight straight points to go ahead, 20-9, with less than a minute to go. Max Liu came off the bench and scored half of the points during the spurt.
The first minute and a half of the next quarter saw the Lightning push the advantage to 25-11. Sage Hill produced the first five points in the second quarter, and it went on another run to go up by 39-17.
Sadeghi started a 12-0 spurt with a layup, and Park hit one of his three three-pointers, Brett Super had five points, before Sadeghi went in for another layup. With less than two minutes remaining in the first half, Brethren Christian (3-11, 0-4), No. 13 in Division 5A, was in a deep hole.
Isaiah Vargas finally scored for the Warriors. His floater accounted for their first points in a little more than four minutes. The junior guard was pretty much Brethren Christian’s offense in the second quarter, recording each of the team’s nine points. He finished with 17 points.
Sage Hill featured an array of offensive options, and it resulted in its second 20-point quarter and it going into halftime up, 43-20. Park recorded 10 points in the first half.
The Lightning made 17 of 32 shots in the first half, while the Warriors shot 36.6% from the field. Eleven turnovers plagued Brethren Christian in the first 16 minutes.
The first 42 seconds of the second also turned out to be an issue for the Warriors, and they didn’t even have the ball. Park and Nanula both drained a three from almost the same spot, on the left wing. Brethren Christian called a timeout, and that didn’t stop Sage Hill’s momentum, as it outscored the Warriors, 19-9, in the third quarter.
Sage Hill rested its starters in the fourth quarter, and it stayed tied for second place in league with St. Margaret’s, its rival. Both have one loss and trail defending champion Crean Lutheran, which has beat the Lightning and Tartans.
Sage Hill closes out the first part of league next week, with a contest at home with Whitney on Tuesday, and three days later, at rival St. Margaret’s, No. 5 in Division 4A.
Academy League
Sage Hill 71, Brethren Christian 43
SCORE BY QUARTERS
Sage Hill 20 – 23 – 19 – 9 — 71
Brethren 11 – 9 – 4 – 19 — 43
SH – Park 16, Sadeghi 15, Nanula 10, Toubia 7, McCord 7, Liu 6, Super 5, Biviji 4, King 1.
3-pt. goals – Park 3, Nanula 2, Sadeghi 1, Toubia 1, McCord 1.
Fouled out – None.
Technicals – None.
BC – Vargas 17, McKay 9, Lopez 5, Gutierrez 4, Sagastume 4, Gorrell 4.
3-pt. goals – Vargas 3, McKay 1.
Fouled out – None.
Technicals – None.
