TUSTIN — The Tustin boys basketball team used a balanced effort to defeat Calvary Chapel 64-52 in an Empire League game Tuesday night at Tustin High.
The Tillers (12-10, 2-0) had four players score in double figures.
Point guard Peyton Montha had a team-high 15 points, including three 3-pointers. Brannon Hampton had 11 points and 13 rebounds, John Gonzalez also had 11 points and Felix Alcazar came off the bench to score 10 points.
Tustin coach Jonathan Antolin was proud of his team’s effort, especially without one of its best players. Taven Epps, who is also a standout football player at Tustin, missed the game to play in the Navy All-American Bowl later this week.
“You know, we didn’t have our big guy (Epps) in the middle and when you take him off the floor, we’re a completely different team,” Antolin said. “So I thought we did a really good job rebounding today and did a really good job executing today.”
Montha connected on a trio of shots from behind the arc in the second quarter, as the junior point guard did his best Steph Curry impression to help the Tillers to a 33-26 halftime advantage over the Eagles (12-7, 1-1).
“Yeah, and the thing about those 3-pointers, they were super late in the shot clock, right?” Antolin said. “The shot clock was winding down, so when you have a guy that can go make plays, it makes the game a little bit easier. Lots of growth with him down the stretch and him managing that game.”
Tustin’s depth was on display as players took turns making an impact. In the third quarter Alcazar scored nine of his 10 points. As Calvary Chapel chipped away at its deficit in the fourth, it was Dillon Walker who scored eight points for the Tillers in the final quarter.
“We’re pretty deep. You know, we’ve got guys that can score the ball,” Antolin said. “I thought we did a really good job of finding really good shots down the stretch.”
Calvary Chapel’s Ephraim Coffin led all scorers with 16 points. Kaden Harris added nine points while Jon Schoening collected 12 rebounds and three blocks for the Eagles.
Calvary Chapel will be without the services of coach O’Shae Williams for the remainder of the season. Norm Follosco has taken the helm.
Follosco was given notice by athletic director Jack McInally toward the end of The Classic at Damien in late December that he would take over for Williams with help from coach Craig Coffin.
Follosco laid out his goals for his team as it battles for the league title.
“Just basically grow every single game,” Follosco said. “We’re gonna grow, we’re gonna get better. We’re gonna look at film, we’re gonna look at our weak tendencies and try to improve upon that.”