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Maranatha Crashes Out of CIF State Championships After Falling to Crespi High School
Featured Mar 18, 2015
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By Vincent Nguyen
After going over a month without experiencing the taste of defeat, the Maranatha High School Boys’ Basketball team was unable to find their shooting stride and was knocked out of the CIF State Championships Tuesday night after losing to Crespi Carmelite High School 65-52.
“We came out running in mud,” Maranatha head coach Tim Tucker said. “It looked like we didn’t have any energy.”
The Minutemen looked promising after scoring their first two baskets, but couldn’t get into their scoring rhythm and couldn’t control the tempo. The start of a turnover-filled night begin early in the first quarter; and the Crespi Celts took a 15-10 lead and never gave it up. Turnovers continued to plague the Minutemen in the second quarter, and the usual shooters–senior guards Tyler Dorsey and Tey Williams, and junior guard Sean Romero–were just ice cold.
“Defense wasn’t there, and we just didn’t have it tonight,” said Tucker. “It just didn’t look like my team.”
Crespi continued to not only give the Maranatha defense a hard time, but the offense as well. The Celts locked down Dorsey, who was coming off of a career-high 52 point game against Chaminade over the weekend, while the red-hot Romero couldn’t find his comfort zone around the arc. Crespi was able to hold Dorsey out to 25 points, 11 rebounds and 3 assists.
“We wanted him to see a second guy every time he dribbled,” Crespi head coach Russell White said on locking down Dorsey. “These concepts weren’t massive game changers.”
Maranatha players started out the third quarter with two steals, but couldn’t capitalize on their efforts. Crespi continued to exploit the Minutemen as they were attempting to find their stride after turning the ball over multiple times. Maranatha’s situation got worse as junior guard Zachary Smalley fouled out early in the fourth quarter. With chances to rally a comeback win, Crespi closed the Minutemen down and defended their lead for the remainder of the game.
Crespi will roll through to the CIF regional finals, facing Campbell Hall for a chance at the state finals in Berkeley, CA.
