La Costa Canyon fights back to beat Cathedral Catholic: San Diego Section basketball roundup
La Costa Canyon and Cathedral Catholic each found themselves with an opening in their schedules, leading to Saturday's non-league matchup at the Claver Center on Cathedral's campus.
Cathedral Catholic opened with a strong first quarter, leading 17-6 and held serve in the second quarter to head into the break with a 34-23 lead.
The Mavericks grabbed control of the game out of the locker room and narrowed the lead to three points through 24 minutes. La Costa Canyon grabbed the lead less than four minutes into the final quarter and held off a late comeback attempt for a 62-60 victory.
La Costa Canyon's Trevor Ladd keeps the ball away from Cathedral Catholic's Steven Evans-Glynn in the first half of Saturday's non-league matchup
La Costa Canyon senior guard Ryan Quain led the way with 21 points, four assists, three rebounds and three steals, knocking down four of his six three-point attempts in the second half. Jasper Buck had 14 points for the Mavericks including 12 in the second half.
Junior Patrick O'Brien led Cathedral Catholic with 20 points, also adding six rebounds and four assists.
The Dons were playing without leading scorer Ty Ingram who is expected to miss the remainder of the season after recently injuring his ankle.
Cathedral Catholic junior Steven Evans-Glynn had nine points and nine rebounds in the first half for the Dons but was held scoreless in the second half as the Mavericks made their run. Evans-Glynn was ruled eligible earlier this month after transferring in from San Ysidro and will now play a bigger role with the expected loss of Ingram this season.
The win marked the 15th victory for La Costa Canyon in their last 17 tries, further securing their spot in the San Diego Section Open Division playoffs.
The Dons are on the outside looking in at the eight team bracket with four games left to play. They'll have their chance for a signature victory when they host rival St. Augustine next Friday night.
MORE SCORES, JAN. 26-27
Carlsbad 62, Torrey Pines 54: Carlsbad was able to grab two victories in less than 24 hours. Friday's win over Torrey Pines gave the Lancers a two-game lead in the North County Coastal League standings with four games to play.
Carlsbad 70, West Ranch 66: The Lancers non-league win over West Ranch won't have implications on San Diego Section seedings but could play a large role come CIF State playoff time.
Mission Hills 78, Ramona 60: Mission Hills continued to roll in the Palomar League, beating Ramona 78-60 for their 14th straight victory. Senior point guard Jack Jillson had 37 points and 10 rebounds to help head coach Curtis Hoffmeister snag career victory No. 400.
La Jolla Country Day 45, Santa Fe Christian 39: Playing for the third time this season, La Jolla Country Day was able to hold off the Eagles at home. The Torreys and Eagles have positioned themselves well to make the Open Division playoffs but will have to do so on the road.
JSerra 54, St. Augustine 48: St. Augustine led the Lions at halftime at Mater Dei's Extravaganza but couldn't hold on. Sophomore Jaden Bailes led the Saints with 17 points. The Saints have three remaining games in the Western League and have an outside shot at securing the two-seed in the Open Division playoffs.
University City 65, Hoover 56: University City won all four quarters to remain unbeaten in the Eastern League. The Centurions are chasing Rancho Buena Vista for the top seed in Division 2 but have a loss to Vista that could play a large role when brackets are released in two weeks.
Vista 71, Bishop's 70: Trailing by two points with 1.1 left on the clock, Vista's Gavin Guinn connected on a game-winning shot from beyond half court. It marked Vista's seventh win in their past eight games as they look to secure a top-four seed in the Division 2 playoffs.
Victory Christian 66, Olympian 63: After starting 20-0, Olympian has now dropped their first two league games. Victory Christian continues to battle with Vista and Sage Creek for a top-four seed in the Division 2 playoffs.
- Bodie De Silva | bodie@scorebooklive.com | @sbliveca
