Murrieta Valley tops Temecula Valley to claim league crown

After defeating Vista Murrieta in an emotional double-overtime thriller last month, Murrieta Valley boys basketball coach Brian Wethers was well aware of the possibility of a letdown Tuesday night against Chaparral.

It was a worry that came to fruition, as the six-win Pumas defeated the Nighthawks, setting up a winner-take-all game for the Southwestern League championship between Murrieta Valley and Temecula Valley on Friday night.

Before a packed home crowd on Senior Night, the Nighthawks set that loss aside and used a balanced offense and stingy defense to build a 25-point lead and defeat Temecula Valley 85-70.

The win not only gives Murrieta Valley (18-10, 8-2) a second straight league championship after a shared title last year but a guaranteed home game when CIF Southern Section playoff pairings are announced today.

“We knew we were going to finish at home this week, so we spent a lot of time getting shots up and it paid off,” Wethers said. “Seeing the gym this full gave me chills as a Murrieta Valley alum, and their energy really was key for us tonight.”

Down early after Taj Jackson scored Temecula Valley’s opening six points, Murrieta Valley went on a 7-0 run to take an 11-6 lead. Jacob Casillas banked in a 3-pointer and Parker Steffen finished the run with a midrange fadeaway jumper that found the net. Jeremiah Profit had five of Temecula Valley’s final seven points of the first quarter to help close the gap to 19-18, but Murrieta Valley scored six straight points to take a 25-18 lead after a quarter.

“We just weren’t mentally prepared on Tuesday night (against Chaparral), but we definitely learned a hard lesson from that loss, and it was that you have to prepare the same way every night,” Casillas said.

Casillas made four of his seven 3-pointers in the second quarter, including converting a four-point play with 3:22 left in the half that extended the Nighthawks’ lead to 35-23. Parker Steffen’s layup at the buzzer made it a 51-29 in favor of Murrieta Valley at the half.

“We’re a big community and having that crowd behind us gives us the motivation to work as hard as we do and put Murrieta Valley’s name out there,” Steffen said. “This team definitely feels like we are ready for the playoffs and that we can do good things there.”

Temecula Valley’s Fabian Ruiz scored 10 of his team’s 14 points in the third, including back-to-back shots from beyond the arc. However, the Golden Bears (14-13, 7-3) still trailed 63-43 at quarter’s end and got no closer than 15 points the rest of the way.

Casillas led all scorers with 22 points. Steffen added 19 points, while Brady Jones and Collin Ingram chipped in 14 points and 12 points, respectively. The Nighthawks made a total of 10 3-pointers, one off their season high.

Jackson led Temecula Valley with 19 points. Profit and Ruiz each added 16 points for the Golden Bears.