SANTA ANA, CA - In a low-scoring affair where defense was the name of the game, Centennial-Corona downed De La Salle 50-46 on Saturday evening in the Nike Extravaganza at Mater Dei. Centennial moves to 19-6 on the season with the win while De La Salle drops to 20-2.
Neither team shot well, but ultimately Centennial made the plays down the stretch to pull it out. The Huskies were only 17 of 50 (34 percent) from the field. The Spartans were a frigid 29 percent, making just 17 of 57 shots.
Huskies head coach Josh Giles did acknowledge that the Spartans did not shoot as well as they normally do and that his team was "a little fortunate" in that regard. But he did go on to say "that are length had a lot to do with it (making it hard for the Spartans to get good looks)."
After Centennial went up 5-0 to start the game, De La Salle went on 13-1 run to finish the first quarter with a 13-6 lead.
The Spartans continued the run with five straight points to begin the second period and forge ahead 18-6.
The Huskies settled down and worked their way back by closing the second quarter with a 12-5 run to tie the score at 23-23 at the half.
The third stanza was neck and neck with De La Salle's Colby Orr hitting a three at the buzzer to put the Spartans ahead 34-31.
This one was destined to go down to the wire with two quality teams competing at a high level. Giles felt the difference was his team "executed down the stretch."
De La Salle was unable to make shots at the end and the Huskies made the plays to pull out a quality win over a team that is ranked number one in Northern California.
Giles said he hoped "this win gives our guys lot of confidence" that they can play with anybody.
"We grinded it out and found a way to win," he said. "That's pretty cool."
The Huskies star player, Long Beach State-bound Jordan Griffin (who led his team with 17 points) said "it was pretty important to win" and that it would help with seeding in the playoffs.
Giles does believe his team merits placement in the SoCal Open Division in the upcoming playoffs and is all for it.
"If you want to be the best you've got to play the best," said Giles.
*****
Scoring Totals:
Centennial (50): Ike Anigbogu 11, Isom Butler 3, Gio Nelson 3, Jordan Griffin 20, Paris Lubin 3, Jalen Hill 5, Paul Viela 5
De La Salle (46): Nikhil Peters 14, Colby Orr 3, Connor O'Dea 6, Jordan Ratinho 17, Nick Macarchuk 4, Emeka Udenyi 2
