Calvary Chapel Dominates Mismatch Against Century

Century Coach Greg Coombs scheduled Calvary Chapel in the opening round of his school’s tournament as a test heading into Empire League play next week, and the bigger, quicker, more intense Eagles came away with a revealing--51-39 victory.

“We’ve found some weaknesses we need to improve on,” Coombs said. “We need to take care of the ball a little bit better and do a better job of blocking out against bigger teams. We’re not very big. Some things we knew before, but it was a good test for us.”

Century’s biggest shortcoming is its size. The Centurions’ tallest player, Joel Mijares, is a shade under 6 feet 2 inches. Century has one other player, Phillip Alves, who’s 6-1, and the rest of the team is 6-0 and under.

Calvary Chapel center Josh Sherman is only 6-4, had six of his game-high eight blocks in the first half. Sherman finished with 10 points.

Tony Olivas added a game-high 16 points and Torin Beeler had 15 for the Eagles (8-4), who advanced to play La Habra (7-5) at 8:05 tonight in a second-round game.

Guard Chris Ferretti scored 10 of his team-high 15 points in the second half for Century (7-5).

As big a role as Sherman played, Olivas might have been the real standout. His steal and lay-up late in the first half gave the Eagles a 13-point lead, their biggest of the game. Olivas then stifled the Centurions’ comeback attempt by hitting four consecutive baskets midway through the third quarter to extend the lead back to a comfortable 11-point margin. Century was no closer than seven the rest of the way.

“He’s our best-kept secret,” Calvary Chapel Coach Bernie Francis said. “Most people think he’s kind of unassuming, but he will attack the basket. He’s not afraid of someone five, six inches taller than him 1/8he’s 5-11 3/8; he’ll take it right to the hole, and I think people are surprised by his fluidness under the basket.”