Santa Rosa leads from start to finish in 70-55 victory

By Juliette Johnson, Correspondent

Santa Rosa Academy’s boys basketball team beat San Jacinto Leadership Academy Wednesday night by an impressive score of 70-55.

Santa Rosa’s high scorer with 26 points was senior Austyn Hopkins. He took impressive chances and was attentive on both ends of the court, collecting rebounds and helping his teammates out.

The Rangers started the first quarter with a 6-0 lead and held it until the 4-minute mark, when the Lions quickly tied it. Both teams kept a strong work ethic, but San Jacinto failed to create any chances for themselves. Santa Rosa extended its lead to 16-7 while showing great defensive play. In the last few minutes, the Lions were able to reach 11 points but were still trailing by 10 at the end of the quarter.

San Jacinto was determined to close the gap in the next quarter. However, they continued to trail at 28-18 until close to the end of the half. Santa Rosa kept its lead but let go slightly. The Rangers defense was put to the test as the Lions crept their way up in the last moments, almost tying them at 30. Ultimately they could not keep up, and the first half ended with a score of 37-30.

Possession evened out across the court in the third quarter, although the San Jacinto offense did not take as many chances. Santa Rosa’s Cory Moore started extending the Rangers’ lead. San Jacinto was only able to score about 10 points that quarter, and Santa Rosa ended it with a 51-40 lead.

The fourth quarter started with a 3-pointer made by junior Ian Patton from Santa Rosa. San Jacinto was able to close the gap to 57-49. Nevertheless, Santa Rosa was able to score 19 points in the quarter to dominate the Lions, who only were able to get 15.

San Jacinto Leadership Academy’s high scorer was senior Jake Gagnepain with 27 points.

When asked about the improvement of his team, Rangers coach Tom Crunk had this to say:

“We’ve been pretty consistent. We’ve had some ups and downs. We’re, I would say, in a down; we didn’t play as good as we should. We have two more league games, and then CIF starts, so we’re really hoping that, including tonight, these next two games are games that get our motors going.”