HS HOOPS: Crespi wins Div. IV-A title

By Gerry Gittelson
Special to the Daily News
SANTA ANA - Down by 13 points in the most important game of his life, Blake Stanton took over for Crespi High of Encino, scoring 21 points and coming through with several key plays down the stretch in a 50-43 victory Friday over Alemany of Mission Hills in the Southern Section Div. IV-A basketball championship before a crowd of about 4,000 at Mater Dei High.
Stanton hit a 25-foot 3-pointer as time expired in the first half to give Crespi a one-point halftime lead, and over the final 90 seconds of the fourth quarter Stanton scored five points and had a key steal, as the Celts defeated their Mission League rival for the third time this season.
"Words can't describe how I feel right now," Stanton said. "Losing was not in our mindset, even when we were down by 13. We knew what we had to do, and I knew what I had to do for my team."
Stanton missed several shots and did not score in the first quarter, as Alemany (15-17) led 19-6 to the delight of a large crowd of Alemany fans who wore custom cardinal t-shirts and roared their approval.
But in the second quarter, Stanton scored three quick baskets on a couple of jumpers and an inside layup to help Crespi (21-11) to an 8-0 spree to close the advantage to 19-14, and the stocky senior guard soon added a fast-break layup, a free throw, another fast-break layup, and then the long 3-pointer with a defender in his face as the halftime buzzer sounded.
"At first, I was trying to do too much. I had to let the game come to me," Stanton said.
Stanton connected on 8 of 18 shots with three steals and three assists, as the Celts overcame 18 turnovers while managing to hit just 1 of 8 3-pointers. Matt Mounier added 17 points and seven rebounds, and Kenny Stenhouse chipped in four points and 11 rebounds.
Stanton, a four-year starter, isn't through yet. Both teams have qualified for the CIF Southern California Regionals, and pairings are scheduled to be released Sunday at noon.
"This was the culmination of an awesome career for Blake," Crespi coach Russell White said. "Tonight was a nice cherry on top of the whole thing."
Alemany shot just 28.6 percent (16 of 56), including 2 of 21 3-pointers.
"After the first quarter, I was thinking we had to play better defense, and we did," White said.
In the final minute, Alemany missed four shots and committed two turnovers.
Perhaps nerves got the best of the Warriors, and that was not a big surprise considering their starting lineup includes two freshmen and two sophomores.
Max Guercy scored 14 points for Alemany, and Jordan Fuller added 11.
"We started getting complacent and turning the ball over, and that's not what we wanted to do," Fuller said. "This was the first CIF basketball championship ever for Alemany, so I guess it was a little nerve-racking, but I don't think nerves played that much of a factor."
Mounier was the only Crespi player to score in the first quarter. Crespi soon went on a run of its own, outscoring Alemany 10-2 to begin the second the second quarter to pull to within 21-16 on Stanton's fast-break layup.

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Box Score:

Crespi 6-21-9-14-50
Alemany 19-6-10-8-43
C: Mounier 17, Bennett 5, Stenhouse 4, Loth 3, Stanton 21.
A: Moffett 4, Labovic 2, Richardson 8, Fuller 11, Guercy 14, Martin 2, English 2.
R: C 21-11; A 15-17