With a 15-game Heritage League win streak on the line, Santa Clarita Christian School boys basketball hosted Vasquez at The Master’s University on Monday.
Coming out of the gates stroking it from deep, SCCS’s Kevin Stone hit two 3’s in the opening minutes of the game and SCCS finished with 15 3-pointers in the game, winning 86-23.
“We take every game seriously,” Stone said. “This is a league game so we have to win all of these in order to get a good seed heading in the playoffs. I just try to go out there and do what I do best and shoot for my team and get those 3’s.”
Stone finished the game with a game-high 23 points (five 3’s) to go along with six rebounds and four assists.
SCCS’s length bothered Vasquez throughout the game, forcing myriad of turnovers that led to a first quarter with only three points allowed, all on free throws.
Scoring 18 points in the second quarter, SCCS (13-8 overall, 3-0 in Heritage League) hit a dry spell until two minutes left in the half when Leroy Thompson missed a wide open 3-pointer, but shook it off and finished the half hitting back-to-back 3’s to give the Cardinals a 42-15 lead.
“It’s just fun playing with these guys because everyone is unselfish so I know that I can get my shots because my teammates will find me,” Thompson said. “They give me the confidence that every time I get the ball to keep shooting because we all have each others backs.”
Thompson finished the game with six 3’s to finish second on the team with 22 points, three rebounds and three steals.
Pushing the lead to 60-15 with three minutes into the third, Justin Collins set the tone defensively to spark a 18-0 run turning turnovers into fast-break opportunities and wide open shots from the perimeter.
The Cardinals finished the quarter on a 32-8 run to hold a substantial 74-23 lead with one quarter left to play.
“Pretty much we just want to work ourselves defensively for other big games coming up,” Collins said. “I just want to get my teammates involved and that’s about it.”
Keeping with the defensive intensity, the Cardinals did not allow Vasquez (1-14, 1-6) to score another point in the fourth and won their third league game to extend their Heritage League win-streak to 16 games.
SCCS plays George Washington Prep at 3:30 p.m. at Sierra Canyon on Saturday.
“It has been tremendous in terms of what our school wants to represent in terms of being really good in athletics and developing athletes as well as helping them be better men,” said SCCS head coach James Mosley. “To me it’s a testament of our administration being committed to athletics and wanting to do it right for our kids.”