De Leon leads Heritage past rival Paloma Valley, 68-62

Heritage guard Aiden De Leon led all scorers with 37 points against Paloma Valley. (Photo by Action Captures Media Group)

By Doug Spoon, Editor

Heritage and Paloma Valley have both struggled on the basketball court this season, but the intensity level was higher than ever Tuesday night in a Sunbelt League meeting between the rival schools.

The passion on both sides was evident as the Patriots fought to maintain the advantage throughout the contest. Then suddenly, in the final minute, the lead was down to a single point.

In the end, however, Paloma’s Wildcats had no answer for Heritage junior guard Aiden De Leon, and the Patriots held on for a 68-62 victory before a boisterous crowd in their home gym.

The Patriots (6-11, 2-2), who led by as much as 16 points in the first half, found themselves in a real battle in the fourth quarter against the charging Wildcats (6-12, 1-3). With just over a minute left, Heritage’s lead was 61-60 following a three-point play by the Wildcats' Nathan Torres. And that’s when De Leon took over.

First, De Leon scored on a driving layup with 50.7 seconds left. Torres countered with a layup of his own and the lead was still one at 63-62 with 35 seconds remaining. Undaunted, De Leon drove nearly the length of the court to draw a foul on the way to the basket and made one free throw for a two-point margin.

Paloma Valley had a chance to tie the score with 14 seconds left, but a layup just missed. De Leon was there for the rebound, was fouled and made two free throws. Seconds later, following another Wildcat miss, De Leon rebounded, was fouled and sank two more free throws to seal the victory.

There were standout players on both sides, but it was De Leon who scored his team’s last 10 points on the way to a 37-point performance.

“It’s a rivalry game. My teammates and me … we started out slowly this season, but we’re a family, and a family works together. It wasn’t just me. All my teammates helped. They helped me with rebounds and with hustle plays. That’s all them.”

De Leon also had praise for Patriots head coach Nyron Jones and his assistants.

“Our coaches executed,” he said. “They laid out plays for us. They made sure we didn’t let up. We weren’t nervous.

“They run us at practice. They push us to our limits, in situations we won’t even see in a game. Then when we come into the game, we’re ready.”

The Patriots were ready from the opening tip-off, building a 16-6 lead after one quarter with help from two De Leon 3-point shots – the second just beating the final buzzer. Forward Bryan Banks (9 points total) was also instrumental in pushing the ball aggressively forward, and Heritage build a 28-12 lead midway through the second quarter. The Wildcats weren’t finished, however, and cut the lead to 30-24 by halftime.

With solid play by forward Reagan Thayer (16 points) and aggressive defense by his teammates, the Wildcats continued to hang tough in the second half. They cut the lead to four (38-34), then three (45-42) toward the end of the third quarter, but at the end of the period Heritage was still in the lead at 50-44.

Yet even though Paloma Valley was within one point late in the game, Heritage never faltered. That, Jones said, is a tribute to their character.

“We haven’t had many close games, so I wasn’t sure how they would conduct themselves, if they would stay poised during the moment,” the coach said. “They showed it. Aiden hit some big free throws down the stretch when we needed it.

“It an emotional win. It’s great to see them making improvements. I see the passion. I always tell them that whenever you approach a game, as long as you play with passion and with pride, I’m fine with whatever the outcome. All the boys played with fire tonight.”

Ricky Sanchez, Aidyn Hendricks and Shaun Jordan had six points each for Heritage. In addition to Thayer’s 16 points, Paloma Valley got 11 from Torres and 10 from Donovan Larry.

The teams will meet again Feb. 2 in the final game of the regular season.

Ricky Sanchez goes up for a shot against the defense of Nathan Torres. (Photo by Action Captures Media Group)

 Heritage's Bryan Banks puts up a shot under pressure. (Photo by Action Captures Media Group)

 Reagan Thayer of Paloma Valley tries to get a shot over a defender. (Photo by Action Captures Media Group)

Isaiah Gilbert puts up a shot in the midst of a crowd Tuesday night. (Photo by Action Captures Media Group)