Yoest Does the Most as Crespi Edges Past Long Beach Wilson

It was only fitting that Steve Yoest come up with the final rebound in the last wild scramble under the basket.

It was his game ball to keep, and the Crespi High forward held it high in one hand as fans poured onto the court and mobbed him.

It was Yoest, the Celts’ sixth man, who was most responsible for reversing the momentum and leading Crespi to a 53-52 come-from-behind victory over Long Beach Wilson in the opening round of the Southern Section 5-A playoffs Friday night.

“He was a real factor for us,” said Crespi Coach Paul Muff. “He came on and got some real crucial rebounds.”

Yoest grabbed a game-leading nine rebounds, but seven came in the final period as the Celts battled back from a 44-40 deficit. At that point, Wilson had all the momentum, but Yoest helped change that in a hurry.

With Crespi trailing, 44-42, Yoest grabbed an offensive rebound and scored to tie the game. Less than a minute later, Celt guard Pat Knight was fouled by Don Brotz, who didn’t like the call and slammed the ball to the floor.

Brotz was whistled for a technical, which guard Jason Turner converted for a one-point Crespi lead. The officials then discovered that the Celts were in the bonus, but Turner, not Knight, shot the one-and-one, sinking both free throws for a 47-44 Crespi lead.

“Their coach thought we were pulling something,” Muff said, “but I didn’t even know who it was who got fouled, to be honest.”

With 3:50 left, Yoest grabbed a Turner miss and squeezed between Brotz and Darren Rector for a hoop to put Crespi ahead, 49-44. He got a piece of Brotz’s shot at the other end and grabbed the rebound.

Turner hit a free throw for a four-point advantage, then forward Scott Campbell took a pass from Steve Tanin, scored and was fouled. He sank the free throw for a 53-46 Celt lead.

Brotz, who led all scorers with 26, scored inside for the Bruins, then connected on a short bank shot following a Crespi turnover to cut the margin to 53-52 with 29 seconds left.

Brotz fouled out four seconds later, sending Knight to the line for his third one-and-one of the period. Knight missed the front end for the third straight time, and Rector rebounded for Wilson.

Rector was short on a jumper, Wilson’s Lantz Simpson rebounded and missed from the corner, and Rector missed a tip before Yoest finally came down with the rebound as time expired.

Yoest finished with seven points, four in the fourth quarter. Turner led the Celts with 16 points, and Tanin had 12.

Crespi, 20-4 and ranked fifth in the Southern Section, travels to St. Bernard, ranked fourth, on Friday.

Wilson finished 14-10.