Above: Yes, the Rams are indeed the RHL’s No. 1 team.
TEMPLE CITY — James Chen was not going to let his Temple City High School teammates down.
The guard single-handedly led the Rams to the promised land — a Rio Hondo League championship — by scoring 31 points, 23 in the first half, in a 70-52 championship victory showdown against Monrovia in a standing-room only Temple City gym. It ended La Caada’s seven-year lock on the title.
“It’s like a Hollywood story,” Chen said. “We haven’t done it in 10 years, It’s great.”
The teams went into the final regular season game tied for the league lead at 7-2. Chen had three 3-pointers in the first half, Zack Aquino had three 3-pointers in the second quarter and the Rams made 8 of 19 3-point attempts in the half en route to a 43-32 halftime lead.
“I let the first one go and it went in, so I just kept letting it fly and it kept on going on in,” Chen said.
Only twice in the second half could the Wildcats close to within nine points, both in the third quarter.
“There was no fluidity like we needed to,” Monrovia coach Jarod Mix said. “We weren’t running our offense like we needed to.”
Temple City coach Rich Hollinger has been involved in four of the Rams’ five league titles, one as a player in 1978.
Despite the first-half fireworks, the Rams cooled down considerably in the second half. Chen shot 2 of 10 in the half. The 5-foot-10 senior did finish with a team-high 13 rebounds. The Rams missed on all nine of their 3-point attempts in the second half.
“I was really worried because we were a little gassed at halftime,” Hollinger said. “I told the kids, ‘You have to keep driving,’ and then we got our momentum back.”
The Rams built a 58-42 midway through the fourth quarter when the Wildcats were hit with a pair of technical fouls. Chen made two of four foul shots and Aquino, who had 19 points, hit two more for a 61-42 lead.
But by that time, even last-second heroics by Chris Bullock would not have helped. The Monrovia left-hander made two shots at the end of the first two quarters from the halfcourt line at the buzzer.
Above: Temple City’s James Chen being interviewed by the Star-News’ Keith Lair.
