Santa Clara Manages to Ward Off Calabasas, 52-48

Calabasas High had a chance to unseat Santa Clara as king of the wild Frontier League Friday night.

The Coyotes, spurred by a vocal crowd at Calabasas, stayed close behind sharp-shooting guard Steve Ward and rugged center Jon Perlstein.

But Santa Clara, which has won six of the last seven Frontier titles, never trailed and won, 52-48, to take a two-game league lead.

Calabasas (3-2 in league and 11-7 overall) tends to rely on Ward, who averages 27.5 points a game. When he came up cold in the last minute, missing two long jumpers, the Coyotes weren’t quite sure where to turn.

By contrast, Santa Clara (14-6, 5-0) spreads its scoring as evenly as the crew cuts worn by every member of the team. No Saint averages more than 14 points a game, so if someone isn’t shooting well, the void is filled by another player.

Or by Coach Lou Cvijanovich.

When Calabasas cut the Santa Clara lead to two with 2:35 remaining in the game, Cvijanovich, who is in his 28th season at Santa Clara, called time out.

The barrel-chested coach exploded like a powder keg, and any lack of concentration on the part of his players was quickly restored.

Fred Santana, a junior guard, hit three key free throws down the stretch, two of which gave Santa Clara a 49-47 lead with 1:08 left. Santana made a steal on the Coyotes’ next possession and fed Danny Jones for a layup and a four-point lead.

“I want to be the one controlling the ball and shooting free throws late in the game,” said Santana, who made five of Santa Clara’s six foul shots. “I’m the most consistent.”

Ward, who hit only 9 of 22 from the field, acknowledged that poor shooting cost the Coyotes.

“We had a chance,” he said, “but didn’t make the big shots. We played good defense, I thought, but lost it on offense.”

Calabasas made 21 of 47 field-goal attempts and 6 of 13 free throws. The Saints hit only 23 of 53 from the field and 6 of 15 free throws, but often rebounded their own misses.

A sequence at the end of the first half typified the Saints’ tenacity. Santana missed a 20-footer with four seconds remaining, but Joe Crosby snatched the rebound and tossed the ball in the basket at the buzzer to put Santa Clara up by eight.

Calabasas pulled within three points with 48 seconds left in the third quarter when Ward made a 15-footer after Scott Fitzgerald grabbed an offensive rebound. The Saints ran down the clock and Santana hit a 17-footer with four seconds left, however.

This was the third meeting this season between the teams. The Coyotes had beaten Santa Clara for the first time in the eight-year history of Calabasas High in December during the Thousand Oaks tournament. The Saints defeated the Coyotes in the league opener three weeks ago.

SANTA CLARA--Jones 15; Fancher 8; Bock 6; Santana 15; Gonzales 4; Crosby 4.

CALABASAS--Marschalk 4; Drezner 2; Perlstein 13 and 15 rebounds; Ward 19; Jacquet 6; Smith 4.