Leff, Coleman Spark Crespi to 58-48 Victory

Crespi High’s Rob Leff and Randy Coleman were not going to let it happen again.

The Celts had something to prove in their Mission League basketball game against St. Bernard on Friday night, and Leff and Coleman made sure their opponent learned the lesson well.

Leff and Coleman combined efforts to score 15 of Crespi’s 20 points in the fourth quarter and turned a nail-biter into a semi-rout, beating St. Bernard, 58-48.

The victory keeps Crespi (11-8, 6-3 in league play) in the hunt for the league championship along with St. Bernard (12-10, 5-3) and Bishop Montgomery (6-2 in league play).

The Celts lost to St. Bernard, 67-60, in the first round of league play after being outscored, 13-4, in the fourth period.

It was turnabout for Crespi this time around.

“We realized there was a lot at stake,” said Coleman, who finished with 13 points and a game-high 15 rebounds.

The lead changed hands eight times in the first three quarters, but Crespi led by one point after the second and third quarters and did relinquish the lead in the fourth. Chris Bowman hit a follow-up jumper with four minutes 35 seconds left to keep St. Bernard close at 48-47.

But that would be the last field goal for the Vikings. St. Bernard did not score again until Bowman hit the front end of a one-and-one opportunity with two seconds to play.

“We took care of the ball tonight, and that was the key,” Crespi Coach Chris Nikchevich said. “We limited them to only one shot each time down, and that’s what we needed to do.”

The Vikings, who shot just 30.8% (four of 13) from the field in the fourth quarter, shot 39.6% (21 of 53) overall.

In contrast, Crespi nearly couldn’t miss in the final period, hitting seven of 11 (63.6%) from the field. The Celts finished 53.3% (24 of 45).

Leff scored a game-high 22 points and Matt Carpenter added 10.

Leff, a 6-foot-4 senior guard, was nine of 16 from the field.

“Rob is money,” Nikchevich said. “Rob can really play this game.”

St. Bernard’s Chris Keldorf, who has given an oral commitment to play football for Utah State in the fall, led the Vikings with 17 points and nine rebounds.