Photos by Jim McCormack for the OC Sports Zone
Boys Basketball:
Damien finished what it started on Tuesday night.
The Spartans used five and seven-point advantages in the first and fourth quarters, respectively, to earn a spot in the CIF State Division 1 championship game this Friday in Sacramento.
Damien edged visiting Crean Lutheran, 58-53, to claim the CIF State D-1 So Cal Regional title.
And as always, Mike LeDuc’s boys were as balanced as it gets.
Kaleb Smith had a team-high 16 points, but most importantly, 10 of Smith’s tally came in the decisive fourth quarter.
Spivey Word and RJ Smith contributed 14 points apiece, and that included three 3-pointers by Smith and two from Word.
Crean Lutheran’s Koat Keat led all scorers with a game-high 17 points.
Vyctorius Miller added 14 points to the Saints total.
Jimmy Oladokun did his part, scoring 11 points in the win.
The Spartans had a 21-6 advantage in points behind the 3-point line.
It’s the second victory over the state’s 15th-ranked team in 25 days for DHS.
Up next: Damien will meet up with Clovis North in the CIF State Division 1 championship on Friday night.
The Broncos (22-11) edged St. Ignatius, 58-56, in San Francisco.
The tip is set for 8 p.m. at the Golden 1 Center in Sacramento.
Box Score:
CL: 11-16-13-13-(53)
D: 16-11-9-20-(58)
Crean Lutheran scoring: Koat Keat 17, Vyctorius Miller 14, Rui Han 6, James Agany 6, Parker Tuttle 5, Darrell Morris 5,
Damien scoring: Kaleb Smith 16, Spivey Word 14, RJ Smith 14, Jimmy Oladokun 11, Bradley Xie 3
Records: Crean Lutheran (25-7); Damien (31-4)
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