For Openers, Alemany Rallies to Top Crespi

Joe Anlauf sounds more like a geography teacher than a basketball coach when he barks out offensive signals to his Alemany High team.

“Denver,” Anlauf will shout from the bench. Or “Washington.” Or “Vegas.”

Vegas might have been the best bet considering Anlauf’s luck Tuesday night. His Indians got the breaks they needed and overcame a six-point deficit in the fourth-quarter to defeat Crespi, 49-46, in a Del Rey League opener at Alemany .

Alemany (5-6), trailed, 44-38, midway through the fourth quarter but fought back to tie the score, 46-46, on a free throw by Jon Beauchemin with 13 seconds to play. Crespi called timeout, hoping to disrupt Beauchemin’s concentration for his second free throw.

The ploy worked. Beauchemin’s attempt was long, striking the back of the rim. But it bounced out to Alemany’s Tony Lopez, who promptly threw up an off-balance shot from 15 that missed badly.

The rebound went to Alemany’s Brian Swanson directly under the basket, and the junior center laid it in for a 48-46 Alemany lead.

Crespi (8-6) immediately called timeout with four seconds left, but the Celts were assessed a technical foul because they already had exhausted their allotment of timeouts. Beauchemin made 1 of 2 free throws, and Alemany retained possession on the technical and ran out the clock.

So which offense was Alemany in at the end?

“That was the run-and-shoot offense,” Anlauf said.

Lopez, who started for Alemany the first week of the season, came off the bench to score 14 points (10 in the fourth period) and grab a game-high 10 rebounds.

“Tony’s playing real well off the bench,” Anlauf said. “He’s capable of that all the time. If he did that every game, we’d be in great shape.”

Crespi appeared to be in fair shape early. The Celts led, 24-23, at halftime, 39-34 after three periods and 44-38 when guard Mike Tilkian connected on a three-point shot with a little more than four minutes to play.

But that would be Crespi’s last field-goal attempt of the night. The Celts managed but two free throws by Matt Turner the rest of the way.

Alemany, which snapped a four-game losing streak, closed to 44-41 on a free throw by Beauchemin and a pair by Lopez. Indian guard Dave Berganio stole the ball from Ken Lynch, and Lopez scored on a layup to make it 44-43 with 2:30 left.

Turner hit his free throws to give Crespi a three-point lead before Lopez scored again inside to cut the lead to 46-45.

Tilkian, who led all scorers with 16 points, including 4 of 6 three-pointers, had a chance to expand the Celts’ lead but missed the front end of a one-and-one with 42 seconds left. Crespi never regained possession of the ball.

“I feel like we just gave one away,” Crespi Coach Paul Muff said. “But you’ve got to give Alemany credit. They outhustled us. It seemed they got the crucial rebounds when it counted.

“If we’re going to be a factor in the league, we’ve got to win games like this. I hope this loss isn’t going to haunt us.”

Swanson and Beauchemin each finished with 10 points and Berganio added nine.

Forward Bill Foudy had 11 points for Crespi, which took only six shots in the fourth period, making two.