HS HOOPS: Renaissance falls short vs. Price

With an ambitious plan to play the best possible competition and to eventually win a state basketball title, tiny Renaissance Academy High continues to play an ultra challenging free-lance schedule, and on Thursday the host Wildcats played their toughest opponent, Price of Los Angeles, which has won eight section title and five state titles.

No one expected Renaissance Academy to win, but the Wildcats certainly did not back down, diving for every loose ball and continuing to hustle until the final buzzer in a 70-57 loss that surely will help Renaissance Academy down the road.

"I feel like this was a good experience for us, and we're going to need this experience to make a playoff run," Renaissance Academy's Dushon Carter said. "We have a lot of potential, and once we really start playing together I think we'll win our division easily."

Price (17-1) is ranked No. 5 in the California by Maxpreps.com and No. 1 in the Southern Section Div. IV-AA poll, and the team includes five players 6-foot-7 or taller. The Knights led by as many as 22 points in the second half, but Renaissance Academy (11-6) kept on coming and ended up giving the visitors all they could handle.

"It's a challenge, but I like that," Renaissance Academy's Gil Tacita said. "We want to play against the best, so we just play hard. Price is very good."

Carter scored 25 points and Tarcita added 21, but only two others managed to score for Renaissance Academy, as Price was much deeper.

"We were a little nervous. We missed some shots," Renaissance Academy coach Sid Cooke said. "I think we missed shots we usually would have made, but this kind of competition is what we wanted. We never play teams in our own division."

Price's top players, Allen Crabbe and 6-foot-9 Richard Solomon, have both signed with California. Crabbe scored 22 points with 10 rebounds and four assists, and Solomon totaled 16 points and 11 rebounds.

Renaissance Academy, ranked No. 1 in Div. V-A, entered with a six-game winning streak.

"I think we'll get better from this," Cooke said. "We're going to keep playing tough teams, and we want to make a really serious run."