CENTURY LEAGUE ROUNDUP : Late Defensive Stand Helps Foothill Hold Off Villa Park
Somewhere among all those easy layups and uncontested jump shots, Foothill found a little defensive fortitude Wednesday night.
Not a lot, mind you, but enough.
Foothill got tough for a few minutes in the fourth quarter and made off with a 72-64 Century League victory over visiting Villa Park.
“I guess if you’re going to play some defense, it’s better to play it at the end,” Foothill Coach Jim Reames said.
The Knights did, to a point.
After allowing Villa Park free lanes to the basket most of the night, Foothill clamped down in the final three minutes.
Consecutive steals by Jeremy Hong and Mike Busalacchi sparked an 10-0 burst that turned a two-point deficit into a 70-62 Foothill lead with 59 seconds left.
The Spartans made just one of eight shots down the stretch. They also turned the ball over three times in the final two minutes.
“We definitely didn’t out-defend them, but we made the big plays when we had to,” Reames said.
Through three quarters, that meant matching the Spartans basket for basket.
Villa Park made its first eight shots, and Foothill made seven of its first eight. Neither side made much of an effort to get in the way of those shooting.
With so much offense, there was plenty of points to go around.
Busalacchi, who was moved from guard to forward last week, led Foothill with 26 points, his second second consecutive big game. Busalacchi, who had been averaging 10 points per game, scored 27 points against Orange Friday.
Jared Winger scored 21 points for Foothill (13-11 overall, 5-4 league). His layup and free throw gave the Knights a 63-62 lead with three minutes left, an advantage they never relinquished.
Ryan McArthur scored 24 points and Steve LeBrecht 20 for Villa Park (11-11, 5-4).
It was the second disappointing game for Spartans. A week ago, they beat El Modena to move into a three-way tied for first place.
But they followed that with a 13-point loss to Santa Ana Valley on Friday and then Wednesday’s setback.
“I don’t know what happened out there for us,” Villa Park Coach Chris Burton said. “We came out lethargic and didn’t get any better.”
And Foothill did. At least at the end.
In other league games:
El Modena 56, Orange 41--Fred Forbes had nine of his 21 points in the first quarter as the Vanguards broke out to a 19-8 lead.
Aaron Aguilera added 15 points for El Modena (16-7, 7-2). Pat Harris and Craig Fahrner each had 11 points for Orange (8-14, 0-9).
Santa Ana Valley 65, Canyon 49--Steve Singleton had 15 points and Jeff Carolan had 12 points and 10 rebounds for host Santa Ana Valley (11-10, 7-2). Tony Walker had 16 points for Canyon (3-6 in league).
