Legacy Christian Academy Lions boys’ basketball has made a splash since entering its inaugural season later than most teams.
The Lions began the season at the Damien Classic on Dec. 26, nearly a month after most teams started, where they won their first two games of the year.
Legacy has scrapped together a smaller schedule in its freelance year and has won four of its last five games. The Lions claimed their latest victim, the Beacon Hill Gryphons, on Thursday night at The Master’s University in the team’s only true home game.
The Lions mauled the Gryphons, 76-38, partially due to some lights-out perimeter shooting and tough play in the paint.
Legacy junior RJ Jarreau led the team in the latter with 12 points, 23 rebounds, six assists, four steals and three blocks.
Jarreau was surprised to hear how high his rebound numbers were after the game.
“I think I came out today more aggressive,” Jarreau said. “I’m trying to get better at that.”
Jarreau gave the Gryphons (2-12) nothing easy underneath the rim and was quick to grab loose balls to get his team going in transition.
Also adding a little of everything was sophomore point guard Jason Perle. The Lions sophomore knocked down a game-high seven 3-pointers, but still flashed his crafty point guard skills with some stellar ball handling and passing.
“I guess I came out pretty aggressive,” Perle said. “I just started hitting shots in the beginning and just kept going from there.”
Perle finished the game with 24 points, seven boards, five assists and four steals.
Legacy (7-4) took control of the game right away and dominated the first half. No 3-point shot was forced as the team moved the ball around the floor, just the way Lions coach James Mosley preaches.
“One of the things we focus on every day is moving the ball and being ready to shoot,” Mosley said. “We run and we shoot a lot of threes. We try to balance it with penetration. So, I thought the guys did a good job of sharing the ball.”
Lions junior Marlon Savile was another perimeter threat, and knocked down four 3-balls in the first half.
Savile finished the day with 18 points, two steals and a pair of assists.
Max Beaudry led Beacon Hill with 16 points and a pair of steals.
Legacy belongs to no league nor division as a freelance team. The team has no playoffs or state tournament to look forward to. However, with no deep goals besides winning every game, the Lions have managed to stay motivated and keep grinding through their first season together.
“That’s just who we are,” Jarreau said. “We play for the win. Just because there’s no playoffs doesn’t mean we won’t play hard. We come out and want to win every time, it doesn’t matter.”
After some tough losses earlier in the season, the team reevaluated some things and made adjustments. Legacy has now won five of its last six games.
“We took a few losses that were tough, and we kind of had to, as a staff, just kind of reexamine our strengths and weaknesses,” Mosley said. “That’s where I’ll give the kids a lot of credit, they really receive coaching very well. We challenged them to be better at certain things and try to hold them accountable. And for the most part, they really body it well.”
The Lions will hit the road on Saturday for a road matchup with the Moorpark Musketeers at 1 p.m.
Mosley built Santa Clarita Christian boys basketball into the powerhouse it once was. The coach may be on the verge of something special yet again in the SCV.
The team will likely join an official CIF division next season as well as find a league to call home.
Speaking of home games, with the team starting so late, Mosley struggled to get any home games
“We just go out there and play our hardest every game,” Perle said. “Especially when it’s a home game and we get to play in front of our fans. This was a lot of fun.”
Mosley saw his team play one of its best games of the season on both sides of the court.
With no seniors on its roster and an exciting eighth-grade class expected to come in next season, Mosley is excited for the future of his new program, which will hopefully include a few more home games.
“No seniors this year so we are really excited for the future,” Mosley said. “Coach (Thomas) Lowery and I, we worked together at SCCS and now we’re here … There are some eighth graders that are very talented and they’ll make an impact right away.”
