Canyon View beats Crespi, coach Derek Fisher to capture American Division of Holiday Classic at Torrey Pines
SAN DIEGO — A 16-0 fourth-quarter run by Crespi didn't panic Canyon View (Waddell, Ariz.) coach Randy Lavender one bit Saturday night. Though most most coaches would have called timeout at 10 or 12-0, Lavender waited until the Celtics had actually taken the lead, 62-61.
"We've been like that all season," Lavender said. "We're a 3-point shooting team and when we make them we're unbeatable. Then we go two or three minutes and nothing. It's a re-occurring theme with us."
Lavender was right. the Jaguars caught fire down the stretch with a 14-5 run of their own to win the American Division of the Holiday Classic at Torrey Pines with a 75-67 victory.
Denali McNeal exploded for 29 points and American Division MVP Adam Hubbard added 24 as the Jaguars (14-2) won a crazy game of surges.
Denali McNeal goes in for a nifty backhand layup, two of his 29 points.
Photo: Justin Fine
Crespi, coached by former NBA guard Derek Fisher, got 19 points by Joseph Sterling and 18 from Peyton White but had its nine-game win streak snapped. The Celts dropped to 17-2.
Canyon View watched a 12-point first-quarter lead cut to two by halftime, only to squander a 15-point third-quarter lead completely as Crespi took a 62-61 lead with 3:32 left following a dunk by White and baseline jumper from Sterling to finish off a 16-0 run.
Fisher's son Drew, a 6-4 senior, actually was the catalyst with all 11 of his points in the run.
Quincy Kirk (12 points) answered the streak with two free throws and Hubbard drilled a 3-pointer, one of nine by the Jaguars. White answered with a bucket, but McNeal, a 6-3 guard with unlimited range, and Hubbard followed with buckets and this one was essentially done. A 3-pointer by Carter Barnes closed the gap to 71-67 with 22 seconds left, but Hubbard closed with two free throws and an uncontested layup.
Peyton White (5) skies for a rebound for Crespi.
Photo: Justin Fine
"We're a deep team, we got a lot of depth so when we got down I wasn't that concerned," Lavender said.
Asked how satisfying it was to beat a former NBA player and WNBA coach.
"He can draw up whatever he can but his guys still have to execute," Lavender said with a big smile. "We've been doing this a while."
In early going, the relatively unknown squad from Waddell (Ariz.) was taking it to the Celts with a lead as big as 12 in the first half. But behind eight points from White and a quick 7-0 run, Crespi climbed to within five.
Canyon View celebrates the American Division title of the 33rd Holiday Classic at Torrey Pines.
Photo: Justin Fine
McNeal had 15 points late in the first half for Canyon View. Sterling and Peyton White had 10 each for Crespi.
McNeal hit everything in third quarter to put Canyon View up 56-41. But Celts caught fire, taking their only lead of the second half on Sterling's soft jumper.
Canyon View, a fourth-year school, went 3-11, 18-9, and 21-8 in three previous season. The Jaguars can put up some points. They beat Lake Havasu 129-32 and La Jolla Country Day 107-45 in back-to-back wins Dec. 16 and 19.
They pulled out much closer games in American Division play, knocking off Monterey Trail (75-71) and Bellarmine-San Jose (68-62). Crespi entered on a nine-game win streak after starting with an eight-game streak. Its only previous loss was 53-51 to Pasadena on Dec. 2.
When asked before the game how coaching at the high school level is, Fisher said: "It's going all right. The main thing is to help put smiles on the faces of these young men. Thus far they seem happy, which makes me happy."
Crespi coach and former NBA guard Derek Fisher exalting his team during a back-and-forth game Saturday.
Photo: Justin Fine
