Crossroads Goes Inside to Defeat Lancers

Jason Whieldon and Patrick Salyer spent the last minute of their Southern Section championship game in the last place either wanted to be--on the bench.

It would have been one thing if the Orange Lutheran senior standouts were waving towels and pumping up the crowd as the Lancer reserves applied the finishing touches on the school’s first section title.

But this was much different. Whieldon and Salyer had fouled out late in Saturday’s Division IV-A championship game at the Pond with their team all but defeated. Whieldon sat on one end of the bench with a muted expression, while Salyer stood at the other end, looking rather antsy.

There was nothing either could do as Santa Monica Crossroads closed out a 63-57 victory that gave Roadrunner Coach Daryl Roper his fourth title in 11 years and first since former UCLA guard Baron Davis led the team to the championship in 1997.

This time it was center Isaiah Fox who did most of the damage. Fox bulled his way inside to game highs of 13 rebounds and 23 points, making nine of 11 shots. The 6-foot-10 junior received a big assist from an unlikely source: the Orange Lutheran defense.

“Single coverage on Fox was key,” Roper said. “Not many people are going to use single coverage on him.”

Said Orange Lutheran Coach Shawn Cassidy: “We tried to run a double-team at him, but a lot of times he scored before the double-team arrived. With his size he can move a lot of people in the paint.”

Salyer, Orange Lutheran’s 6-7 center, had trouble containing Fox, though he said he felt he held his own. Fox flew past Salyer and scored on a strong move to the basket midway through the fourth quarter to give Crossroads (23-9) its biggest lead of the game at 54-37.

Orange Lutheran (24-5) put together a 16-5 run thanks in part to three-pointers by Whieldon, Salyer and Jon Howard to pull within 59-53 with 1 minute 34 seconds to play. The Lancers missed a three-pointer on their next possession and then were called for traveling as the Roadrunners put the game away at the free-throw line.

“We made too many passes that weren’t that smart,” Cassidy said. “And you have to give them credit for being a tremendous defensive team.”

Whieldon led Orange Lutheran with 18 points and Salyer had 17 points and seven rebounds. Neither shot particularly well, though; Whieldon was six of 18 from the field and Salyer five of 17. The Lancers shot 33.3%.

The Lancers played without point guard Taylor Gavin, a key reserve who suffered a torn meniscus in his left knee during Monday’s practice.

But that probably wouldn’t have made a difference in the interior, where Fox and forward Jordan Rush (12 points) dominated. Senior guard Felipe Williams added 10 points and four assists for the Roadrunners.

“In my ninth-grade year it was the Baron Davis Show,” Williams said. “This year I was able to do some things and win [a title].”

Whieldon and Salyer, for their part, put a positive spin on the lost opportunity.

“Everyone who played played their hardest,” Salyer said. “We can’t go away from this game with any regrets.”