CYPRESS — Crean Lutheran basketball players Jacob Majok and Chadrack Mpoyi each had big fourth quarters to help break open a close game against Cypress in the Crestview League on Tuesday.
The pair combined for 18 fourth quarter points to lead Crean Lutheran to a 57-41 victory at Cypress High School that enabled the Saints to remain in a first-place tie with La Habra.
The Highlanders defeated Foothill 62-42 in a Crestview League game Tuesday.
The Saints (18-6, 4-1) who are ranked No. 2 in Orange County, trailed by four points early in the final quarter before going on an 11-3 run. They held the No. 9 Centurions (16-9, 2-3) to three points over the first four-plus minutes of the quarter and a total of 17 points in the second half.
With starter Will Malual sidelined with an injury and starter Hunter Caplan out with an illness, Crean Lutheran won with only eight players.
“I think we did a heck of a job holding Cypress, with all their shooting and their transition play, to 41 points,” Crean Lutheran coach Austin Loeb said. “That said a lot about our guys sprinting back in our transitional defense.”
Majok and Mpoyi, who scored 18 points each, helped the Saints go on a 12-2 run in the first quarter.
Mpoyi’s first two baskets came on putbacks under the basket and teammate Nicholas Giarrusso scored on a putback to close out the first quarter.
“As we were walking in here, we had the mentality of just knowing how crazy it’s going to be here,” Majok said. “And though we’re shorthanded with some guys out, we still just kept our composure and did what we had to do to win the game.”
The Centurions opened the second quarter with an 8-2 run to get back in the game and took a 29-28 lead on a 3-pointer from Gavin Kroll and then a three-point lead late in the third quarter on back-to-back baskets from Ethan Mai and Tryus Allen.
But after the baskets from Mai and Allen, the Centurions didn’t score on consecutive possessions for the remainder of the game.
“In the fourth quarter we had them up four with six minutes left, but we kind of broke down,” Cypress point guard Ryan Gov said. “We had turnovers, missed defensive assignments, and couldn’t get a bucket down the stretch, so I think that’s what it came down to.”
The Saints take on Canyon in a Crestview League game on Friday at Canyon High School and play La Habra at home on Jan. 27 in a game that could decide the league championship.
The Highlanders defeated the Saints, 69-56, in their first meeting on Jan. 9.