Rematch has familiar ending for St. Monica Academy boys’ basketball
DUARTE – A first-ever berth to the CIF State playoffs ended the same way the deepest postseason run in history for the St. Monica Academy boys’ basketball team was halted.
The No. 15 seed Crusaders were simply no match for host and second-seeded Duarte in an 81-32 defeat in the first round of the CIF State Division V playoffs Wednesday evening.
With the loss, St. Monica Academy saw its greatest season end with a 21-6 record and advancement to the semifinals of the CIF Southern Section playoffs for the first time.
Stopping St. Monica’s playoff hopes twice was Duarte (28-4), which first defeated the Crusaders, 87-47, on Feb. 23 in the CIF Southern Section Division V-A semifinals.
“This is kind of like playing your big brother in that you’re excited playing him even if you know what the outcome is going to be and that the odds are stacked against you,” St. Monica Academy coach Peter Grimm said. “We knew it was going to be more difficult than last time because the state bid was, frankly, unexpected. We had most of the team playing volleyball and baseball yesterday, so it was certainly different for us.”
Duarte junior guard Danny Pina led all scorers with 29 points, while Isaiah Aveces added 13 points for the Falcons, who received 10 points each from Eli Baxter and Eddie Snyder.
Senior forward Peter Ford paced the Crusaders in his swansong with 11 points and seven rebounds, while junior forward Charlie Boles added six points.
Last time the squads met, CIF-SS Division V-A champion Duarte connected on eight three-pointers. This time around, the Falcons converted 10 triples while maintaining their intense press defense.
St. Monica tallied seven turnovers in a tough first quarter in which Duarte virtually sealed the contest.
The Falcons opened with a 16-0 run that was finally broken on a jumper from senior Sam Gutierrez off an assist from Ernie Grimm with 4:10 left in the first quarter.
Duarte countered with six straight points before the next and final bucket of the quarter from the Crusaders – a jumper from Freddy Sayegh – as St. Monica went down, 26-4, after one quarter.
The second quarter wasn’t much better for the Crusaders, who lost the frame, 21-5, and trailed, 47-9, at the half.
While it took less than four minutes for Duarte to reach double digits, the Crusaders didn’t hit that mark until early in the third quarter.
Some of St. Monica’s best work took place in the third quarter, when a three-pointer from Ford brought the Crusaders within 58-20 with 3:13 left in the frame as the Crusaders and Falcons scored 11 points each up until that point.
Duarte won the third quarter, 25-16, and a running clock fourth, 9-7.
Despite the loss, St. Monica still concluded a winning postseason at 3-2.
“We just tried to have a good time, have fun and do our thing,” said St. Monica junior guard Freddy Mireles, who added two points and split time practicing baseball and basketball over the last few days. “We wanted to put up some decent numbers and just enjoy our last game and a great season.”
