Rancho Christian holds off Rancho Verde
Smoot, Kesse-beda combine for 33 points, helping Eagles overcome an early deficit
The Rancho Christian boys basketball team has participated in some of the most prestigious tournaments and showcase events.
It has been a mixed bag this season for the Eagles, who entered their first full week of Ivy League play with a 9-8 record.
But that tough schedule is starting to pay dividends, and this past week has been a complete success in the eyes of Eagles coach Ray Barefield.
Rancho Christian took down Riverside Poly on Wednesday evening and grabbed sole possession of first place in the Ivy League standings following a 67-63 victory over Rancho Verde on Friday night. The Eagles have won four straight, their longest winning streak of the season.
“A lot people are focusing only on the number of wins and losses without looking closely at who some of those games are against,” said Barefield, whose team has played against likes of Harvard-westlake, Roosevelt, Centennial and Sierra Canyon. “We are a defending league champion and a (returning) section champion . ... There were some tough lessons learned early, but those are lessons that are going to help us reach our goals.”
Rancho Christian (11-8, 3-0) showed its mettle Friday, as Rancho Verde (183, 2-1) closed the opening quarter with a 17-1 run to take a double-digit lead. Jermaine Washington Jr. and Caelin Anderson each sank a pair of 3-pointers to spark that closing run by the Mustangs.
Barefield watched his team turn
TEMECULA >> the ball over six times during the first quarter while also getting outrebounded 12-4 by the Mustangs.
Rancho Verde led by as many as 14 points midway through the second quarter, but Rancho Christian jumped right back into the game with a 20-4 run that gave the Eagles a 35-33 advantage at halftime. Jayden Smoot and Yeshua Kesse-beda both had reverse shooting splits in the first half. Smoot and Kesse-beda combined for seven 3s on as many attempts, but the duo missed all five shots from inside the arc.
“I’m glad we were able to fight through that rough start,” Barefield said. “We switched up the tempo to get our offense going a bit.”
Smoot finished with 17 points to pace Rancho Christian, while Kessebeda and Brian Amunueke added 16 and 15 points, respectively.
“We didn’t give up after that first quarter. We knew there was a lot of game still left to play,” said Smoot, who finished the night with five 3-pointers. “We knew that if we kept playing hard and found some consistency, the game would work out for us in the end.”
The teams traded big runs once again in the third quarter. Rancho Christian opened the second half with an 11-1 stretch to extend its advantage to a dozen points. Rancho Verde dominated the second half of that third quarter, however, and trimmed the deficit to 49-48 following a 14-3 run. Semaj Carter came off the bench and buried a pair of 3-pointers from the corner to give the Mustangs a chance during the final quarter.
Rancho Verde’s Trestyne Nguru knocked down a 3-pointer to level the score at 53 with 6:21 remaining in the game, but Rancho Christian responded with an 11-1 run to get its lead back to double digits. It was not smooth sailing for the Eagles, however, as Rancho Verde cut the deficit to 66-63 with Nguru sinking another 3-pointer from the top of the arc with 35 seconds on the clock.
The Mustangs had an opportunity to draw even closer following a turnover by Rancho Christian, but a pair of shots under the basket rolled off the rim. Sam Horng drained a free throw to make it a four-point game, and Rancho Verde misfired on three 3-pointers over the final 15 seconds.
The foul count was fairly close, but Rancho Verde coach Johnny Dukes was frustrated at some whistles that weren’t blown Friday night.
“I’m usually not one to harp on officiating. There was a lot of contact at both ends of the court, but it seemed like the calls were going one way at times,” Dukes said. “Our kids battled until the end and made some plays. Rancho Christian just made a few more, and that was the difference.
“The beauty of our league is they have to come to our house, too. We split games with them last year, and we will look to do that again this year.”
Rancho Christian had a 26-11 edge in rebounding in the second half, and the Eagles scored 18 second-chance points following the halftime break. Amunueke and Kallai Patton finished the game with eight rebounds apiece for the Eagles, and Kesse-beda came up with six more boards.
“We’re focusing on being a little more physical and having pride about keeping the other team off the glass,” Barefield said. “We struggled with that in the game against Poly and started a little slow again tonight. I think we saw that pride really come through in the second half.”
Washington scored 17 of his gamehigh 22 points in the first half to lead the way for Rancho Verde. Anderson finished with 17 points and a teamhigh seven rebounds, and Nguru added 11 points for the Mustangs.