Santa Clara Shoots 71% in 63-46 Win

So what if Santa Clara High won only two of its first four games?

Try telling Agoura Coach Kevin Pasky that Santa Clara is--dare you mention the word-- struggling .

Pasky’s talented team, which is a contender for the Marmonte League title this season, watched the Saints march out of the Chargers’ gymnasium Wednesday with a 63-46 nonleague victory.

“They had a hard-nosed defense and a patient offense,” Pasky said. “They ran what they wanted to run, and we were not effective.”

Time and again, Santa Clara passed the ball around the perimeter until it found a high-percentage shot. And the Saints’ patience prevailed; they converted 22 of 31 (71%) field-goal attempts. Most effective was senior forward Stevie Amar, who was nine of 11 and scored 20 points.

The Saints’ slow start this season is deceiving. They had only one practice before their first game and loaded their schedule with much larger schools. Then Santa Clara, a Southern Section Division IV school, dropped a game to Southern Section power Simi Valley on a last-second jump shot and, in an overtime loss to City Section power North Hollywood, missed a potential game-winning free throw in the waning seconds of regulation.

So there was no panic in Oxnard, and Santa Clara (5-2) has bounced back to win three consecutive games.

“We’re a lot better than we were a week ago,” Coach Lou Cvijanovich said. “Our record is not like what we’d like to have, but we’re coming along and the kids have done a nice job.”

They certainly did against Agoura. Santa Clara jumped to a 9-2 lead and, even when Agoura pulled within 37-32 entering the fourth quarter, the Saints never worried. Instead, Santa Clara responded with an 8-2 run in the first three minutes of the final period to extend its lead to 45-34.

Agoura pulled within 45-38 with 4 minutes 27 seconds left, but Santa Clara scored the next six points and pushed its lead to 51-38 on two free throws by Art Barron (12 points) with 1:38 to play.

“We had a game plan, but we weren’t focusing on it,” said Pasky, whose team was a Frontier League rival of Santa Clara’s until moving to the Marmonte League last season. “We were outplayed and outcoached.”

Eddie Corridori scored 18 points and Jonathon West added 13 for Agoura (3-2).