Photos & story by former Long Beach Press-Telegram Sports Editor, Jim McCormack

Boys Basketball:

Following a 1-point loss in the finals of the Rumble on Rosecrans, Damien will be looking to rediscover its offensive mojo Saturday when it faces Hillcrest (3-1) in a daytime contest at Colony High School in Ontario.

(Note: Damien website lists game at noon, MaxPreps has the game at 4:30).

The aforementioned loss, the first in five games for the Spartans, was to La Mirada, 55-54, and seemed improbable until the end of the game.

The Spartans, who had rolled through four opponents in the tournament at Sunny Hills High School, including a 76-34 mauling of a good Canyon team, led from start until the final 22 seconds against the Matadors.

Utilizing their Mr. Inside (7-0 Nate Garcia) and Mr. Outside (Xavier Clinton), the Spartans led by 10 after one, 6 after two.

With the smaller Matadors struggling to manage Garcia inside, Clinton put on a spectacular shooting demonstration, scoring 23 of his 28 points. Garcia contributed too, pouring in 10 points in the first quarter.

The contest was physical from the outset and the Matador defense intensified its efforts, limiting the potent attack to 19 second-half points.

Regardless, Damien still seemed unbeatable. Three times in the final half La Mirada (5-0) got within a point, but each time either Clinton or Garcia would lead a response and pull away.

The game seemed in hand in the fourth when baskets by Clinton (3-pointer) and Garcia (2) pushed Damien’s advantage to 54-46 with less than four minutes to play.

It was the last score of the night for Damien.

In the fourth-quarter it was La Mirada’s 2-Man Band, 6-5 freshman Gene Roebuck, and 6-3 junior Julian Gomez, who put on the offensive show.

Roebuck, a highly regarded freshman, had been neutralized throughout the contest (4 points) scored five points to get the Matadors within 3 and then Gomez scored the final four to match Clinton with a game-high 28.

Gomez’s last basket, a 12-foot floater over Garcia, gave La Mirada its first lead of the game with 22 seconds remaining.

A missed Damien shot and an out of bounds gave the Spartans one final opportunity with 4.9 seconds to play, but Clinton’s well-defended 3-pointer was long and a last-second rebound shot by Elijah Smith was blocked by MJ Smith.

Isiah Valenzuela, who kept the Matadors in the game with 12 first-half points, grabbed the block shot to secure the victory and avenge a one-point loss to Damien in the fifth-place game of last year’s Rumble on Rosecrans.

Clinton (28) and Garcia (20) combined for 48 of Damien’s 54 points. Only two other Spartans scored.

Gomez, who wrestled the MVP Award away from Clinton with his final minute heroics, matched Clinton’s 28 points.

Records: Damien (4-1); La Mirada (6-0)

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