Boys’ Basketball: Crespi players respond to White’s message

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With Crespi trailing by 10 points late in the third quarter Wednesday night against Palisades, Coach Russell White called timeout and replaced all five players on the court. The Celts got the message loud and clear, outscoring their opponents 31-14 the rest of the way for a 71-64 victory in the second round of the Beverly Hills Tournament.

‘I’ve been known to do that,’ White said of benching his starters. ‘When we tell them what to do we expect them to do it. Our effort was better on defense in the last 10 minutes or so and we were finishing better on offense. Our execution was better overall.’

Crespi (2-0) advanced to the semifinals Friday night against University, which defeated Beverly Hills, 73-40, with freshman Keywhon Powns scoring 16 points and sophomore David Nwaba getting 15. Junior point guard Blake Stanton led the Celts with 18 points, including 11 in the fourth quarter, and Mike Silos hit four three pointers in the second half.

Senior forward Aaron Fitts scored 16 points while Lebre Merritt and Deron Williams each added 12 for Palisades (4-2), still one of the most competitive teams in the City Section despite losing 11 players to graduation.

‘They just wanted it more than us,’ said Palisades Coach James Paleno, whose team won the tournament last year for the seventh time since 1986. ‘This is the youngest team I’ve had but that’s no excuse. It was a winnable game but we were reaching for loose balls and they were diving on the floor for them.’

White fully expects another dogfight in the Mission League but considers defending champion Loyola the team to beat.

‘Their JV was something like 35-1 last year and they have almost all of their guys back, so yes they’re the favorites,’ White said. ‘It’s their title until someone goes and takes it from them.’

-- Steve Galluzzo