The Village Christian men’s basketball team celebrated winning the Olympic League championship by defeating Village Christian on Tuesday. (Photo by Haley Sawyer, LA Daily News/SCNG)
NORTHridge — Heritage Christian’s gym was empty Tuesday night except for the men’s basketball team, coaches and supporters.
It was a big night for the school’s basketball community as the Warriors won the Olympic League title on Senior Night and coach Paul Tate achieved his 200th career win. They celebrated that night’s 69-60 victory over rival Village Christian with food and unity.
“When you’re at home and there’s so much at stake with the seniors and the league title, it just feels like it’s going our way all night,” Tate said.
The rivalry lived up to its promise and the game was competitive throughout.
Heritage Christian’s Dylan Shaw (20 points) hit a jumper with 20 seconds left in a low-scoring first quarter, but Village Christian (19-8, 4-3) led 9-8 at the end of the frame. Was.
The Crusaders took a 14-11 lead in the second quarter after Dion Lewis, who had 13 points, hit a jumper and Jayden Kalletova (15 points) hit a 3-pointer. Their erratic perimeter shooting seemed to stabilize as the game progressed, but Heritage Christian wasn’t quiet either and was finding a rhythm.
“We just needed to connect,” said Heritage Christian freshman Jourdan Hall, who scored 17 points. “We went into the first half thinking we could do it on our own. But when we started connecting as a team in the second half, we grew together.”
The Warriors (20-8, 8-0) had developed chemistry early this season thanks to the familiarity within the team. Hall and three other freshmen on the team, Josiah Nance, Dominick Rolle and Max Hackney, play on Heritage Christian’s middle school team and have made it through the program together.
Tite said 10 of his 12 players attend Heritage Christian Middle School, and this season’s entire team has attended the same school for the past two years.
Moments like Tuesday’s postgame celebration in the gym help build relationships.
“We have a great community here,” Tate said. “We have a lot of juniors and seniors that are really mentoring the freshmen, and that’s building the culture. And we hope that continues here for many years to come.”
Roman Fischer of the Warriors sank a 3-point shot to tie the score at 22-all and give his team a 6-0 lead. Tei Simone’s come-from-behind jumper gave Heritage Christian the lead at halftime.
Heritage Christian withstood Village Christian’s pressure in the third quarter and maintained the lead. The Crusaders regained momentum on their own towards the end of the fourth quarter and closed the gap. Andrew Perez scored on a putback at the buzzer, giving the Warriors a 43-41 lead.
Simmons cemented the Warriors’ late advantage with a two-handed dunk and a block on the other side of the court with 45 seconds left in the game.
Simmons finished with 14 points and some highlight-worthy plays, but his confidence didn’t dip even when Village Christian guarded him and the ball was distributed to other players.
“At the beginning of the year, we relied heavily on Tae because he averaged 20s last year,” Tate said.
“Tay and Dylan, to their credit, really tried to keep everyone involved and keep trusting them. Two players of that caliber force it every time. It would be really easy to do that, but it won’t help you in the long run.”
The Warriors will take the next step in building their culture when the CIF Southern Section announces the playoff bracket at noon Sunday. Village Christian, which is in second place in the league with one game remaining, will also learn the outcome of the playoffs on this day.