On Wednesday, it was Santiago’s night

By OC Tribune Staff on January 25, 2017 • ( Leave a comment )

SANTIAGO’S DEFENSE (in white) served the Cavaliers well in a 49-44 victory Wednesday night at SHS gym (OC Tribune photo).

By Jim Tortolano

In a barnburner of a game featuring lots of floor burns, fouls and free throws, Santiago High’s boys’ basketball team toppled Bolsa Grande from its perch atop the Garden Grove League race with a 49-44 victory Wednesday night at the Cavalier gym.

The Cavs’ come-from-behind win knotted up the GGL race with both teams at 4-1 at the halfway mark of the campaign. Rancho Alamitos remains in the hunt with a 3-2 mark in third.

“We knew it was going to be close,” said Santiago coach Al Robertson. “Both teams played hard. It was our night.”
Oscar Alcantar led the purple-and-white with 11 points, followed by Chris Robertson with 10. Pacing the visitors were Van Phan with 13 points and Justin Phan with 11.

ADRIAN MONTES was a force inside for Santiago (OC Tribune photo).

In a physical, low-scoring game, the Matadors moved out to early leads, starting with a 5-0 run to start the contest. But the Cavaliers battled back and tied the game at 11 on Angel Estrada’s basket with 45 seconds to go in the first quarter. A trey by Robertson put Santiago up for the first time a few seconds later and the Cavs ended the period with a 14-12 lead over the defending league champs.

Bolsa rallied in the second quarter and the game went into halftime with the Matadors ahead 25-23. They extended their lead to 28-25 early in the third on a three-pointer by Van Phan, but that was the high-water mark for the red-white-and blue as the home team surged back ahead at 2:18 of the quarter and kept a two-to-four point edge for the rest of the contest.

The Matadors had a chance to close things up late in the fourth, but missed several key free throws. The teams traded possession and points until time ran out. Adrian Montes, the 6-foot, 6-inch Cavalier center, was a force inside all night. He scored eight points and jammed up the middle for Santiago and rebounded a fistful of misses.

Bolsa (15-6 overall) will get another shot at the Cavaliers (13-8) at the Matador gym in the final game of the regular season on Feb. 9. And we’ll see whose night it is in that Thursday matchup.