SAINTS AVOID LETDOWN WITH WIN OVER EAGLES
St. Augustine High School’s boys basketball team experienced the thrill of a lifetime Saturday, playing on LeBron James’ home floor, Crypto.com Arena. Saints hammered Los Angeles Loyola, winning by 17 points.
“For sure, that was dope,” said Saints sophomore guard Jaden Bailes, “Not many people get to experience that.”
Even grizzled head coach Mike Haupt, now in his 30th season leading the Saints, came away awed.
“Unbelievable,” Haupt said. “One of my best experiences ever.”
Haupt admitted he was concerned about a possible letdown for his third-ranked team’s next assignment. Turns out he fretted for nothing. The Saints ran off to a 22point lead against fifth-ranked Santa Fe Christian on the Eagles’ home f loor Tuesday night, then got a bit sloppy in the fourth quarter before settling for a 56-46 win.
“I wouldn’t say there was any worry (about a letdown),” Bailes said. “We know what we have to do to execute against San Diego teams. I have full confidence in our guys.”
Bailes led Saints with 18 points. His point guard running mate LoLo Rudolph scored 12 points.
But for the two-time defending San Diego Section Open Division champs, the game was won on the defensive end. Santa Fe Christian came in averaging 59 points. After three quarters the Eagles had scored 30.
Of his team’s defense, Haupt said: “I think it was awesome. That’s kind of what we hang our hat on.”
The Saints turned the ball over nine times. They forced 15 turnovers. SFC’s shooting was not dismal (16 of 39, 40.1 percent). But where the Saints exhibited their superiority was on the glass, outrebounding SFC 34-22.
Offensive rebounds: Saints 13, Santa Fe Christian 3.
“They’re just relentless defensively with their physicality,” said SFC coach Matt Carlino, a former BYU standout. “That was really the difference in the game.”
St. Augustine improved to 16-3 and has won four straight. Santa Fe Christian fell to 12-6, snapping a three-game winning streak.
Haupt said he likes to schedule difficult teams this time of year, and he did this season, playing a tournament in Las Vegas and in the National Division of the Torrey Pines Holiday Classic.
“We like to challenge ourselves in the middle of the season, see what we have to fix, how the kids react to those situations,” he said.
Asked what he discovered Tuesday night, Haupt said, “We’ve got to learn how to close out games. We didn’t do that very well. We were up 20 (actually 22 late in the third quarter) and decided to shoot the ball real fast. We’re good at shooting the ball, but we’ve got to figure out when to go fast and when not to. I thought we played well for not shooting very good. (24 of 58, 41.4 percent).”
Brycen MacKenzie (15 points) and sophomore Dax Hall (12) scored in double figures for Santa Fe Christian.
There was one plus for the Eagles: they didn’t fold, outscoring the Saints 16-6 in the fourth quarter.
“We pride ourselves on that we haven’t been blown out by anyone,” said Carlino. “I was just proud of them that they continued to compete.”