After a loss to the Palmdale Aerospace Academy Griffins on Monday at home, the Trinity Knights bounced back with a 57-46 road win over the Santa Clarita Christian Cardinals on Tuesday.
“Super fun rivalry game and really proud of our guys for just all the waves of the game,” Trinity head coach Daniel Hebert said. “That was one of our keys to victory was making sure we were above the moment and that the moment wasn’t too big for us, and they did that.”
Going into halftime, the Knights (15-12, 10-8) took a 32-21 lead and looked poised to run away for a big win.
But in the opening moments of the third quarter, the Cardinals’ (5-18, 5-13) offense began making shots and cut the Knights’ lead to 37-35 after a 14-5 scoring run from SCCS that was highlighted by a Caleb Shaffer dunk.
Hebert added after the game that the shots in the second half just weren’t falling and that despite the missed shots, the team was still playing well as they knew the shots would start going into the basket.
“We’re a good, really good shooting team and we just weren’t hitting them from the outside,” he said. “So, we got a little stagnant and I think we got tired at the same time, and it was just all the worst for us.”
In the fourth quarter, the Cardinals took the lead over the Knights after Caleb Arnold made a layup to start the final frame. But the lead for SCCS was short-lived as Trinity’s Noah Phillips hit a timely 3-pointer.
Phillips came up again in a big way for Trinity with a minute left to go in the game as the Knights held a narrow 50-46 lead.
The senior captain converted a Dirk Nowitzki-esque fade-away from midrange as the Knights extended their lead to 52-46 and Trinity held on for the win.
“He does everything we ask of him on offense. He’ll dribble the ball up. He’ll shoot from the outside. And he’ll shoot that mid-range jumper to make it a 6-point game,” Hebert said. “He’s such a clutch, mature veteran player.”
Phillips ended the night with a double-double as he recorded 15 points and 13 rebounds.
Sophomore guard Josiah Rix led the Knights in scoring with 21 points, 20 of them coming in the first half.
Regardless of the win, the Knights had already clinched their bid into the playoffs by holding the fifth automatic spot in the Heritage League with a 10-8 record.
The Cardinals saw their record fall to 5-13 in the Heritage League and ended their regular season outside of an automatic berth into the playoffs.
Sophomore Dax Woodward led in scoring for the Cardinals as he tallied 21 points throughout the night.
With Tuesday night’s action being the final regular-season game for Trinity, Hebert is looking forward to seeing where the Knights land come playoff time.
“We’re excited. We think we’re going to have a great path to the playoffs and I’m excited about all the different opportunities we’ve had to learn to get better,” he said.
The playoff brackets for boys’ basketball release Saturday with the first round set to begin on Wednesday, Feb. 11.
