Crean Lutheran’s Chadrack Mpoyi drives past Rancho Christian’s Daniel Bol. (Photos courtesy Crean Lutheran Shutterbugs, Howard Lyon).
The top-seeded Crean Lutheran High boys basketball team used an aggressive defense and clutch shooting in the second half to defeat Rancho Christian 67-55 in a CIF Division 1 semifinal playoff game Friday night before a capacity crowd at Rancho Christian in Temecula.
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The Saints (25-7) advance to the CIF finals next weekend and will face No. 2 JSerra, which defeated Inglewood 103-91 Friday. Day and location will be announced later.
Trailing at halftime, Crean Lutheran outscored the Eagles 38-21 in the second half to reach its first final since 2021.
Hunter Caplan scored 25 points, including 16 points in the second half, to lead the Saints surge. Caplan drilled five 3-pointers in the game and four critical free throws in the final 50 seconds to seal the win.
“It’s an amazing win and a dream come true to be going to the finals,” said Caplan, who scored 10 points in the third quarter to turn a five-point halftime deficit into a 48-46 Saints lead after three quarters. “We came out here to play with no regrets. Now we have to go and win it all.”
After getting into first half foul trouble that placed him on the bench, senior guard Nicholas Giarrusso turned in a spectacular second half defensive effort that sparked the Saints.
“I was mad when I got my third foul and had to come out of the game in the first half,” said Giarrusso. “I knew I was going back into the game in the second half, so I stayed composed and did whatever I had to do to help the team win. Even when we fell behind by eight points late in the first half, Coleman and Jones then hit big baskets down the stretch and it gave us momentum going into halftime. This is the furthest I’ve been in the playoffs. It’s amazing.”
Giarrusso pulled down eight rebounds, had several steals and four assists, and his presence on the floor disrupted the Eagles’ attack.
Key performances from teammates Jacob Majok, Caden Jones, Will Malual and Bryce Coleman boosted the Saints attack.
Majok scored 14 points and had eight rebounds as he and Chadrack Mpoyi physically battled the Rancho Christian bigs in the paint throughout the game.
“We really came together and picked each other up,” said Majok. “When one of us wins, we all win.”
Coleman played a crucial role as he entered the game to replace Giarrusso after he got into foul trouble. Coleman, a senior forward, was tasked with guarding high-scoring Rancho Christian guard JJ Profit. Coleman’s defense was effective as he helped limit Profit to five points in the second half.
“I’m a football player and I knew my part was to play defense, get turnovers and hit the open player,” said Coleman, who scored who scored seven points and will be attending Columbia next fall to play football.
After returning to the lineup for the first time in nearly three weeks after suffering a foot injury, Malual played a few minutes in the second half and paid valuable dividends.
“It was hard not to be playing but this is an amazing win for was,” said Malual, who’s basket in the final seconds of the third quarter gave the Saints a 48-46 lead after three periods.
Crean Lutheran upped it lead to 52-45 following baskets by Caplan and Majok at the 4:51 mark of the final quarter. The Saints then scored on their next four possessions to increase its lead. Mpoyi’s back-to-back buckets gave Crean Lutheran a 60-50 lead with 2:15 to play. The Saints finished the game by scoring on nine of their final 10 possessions to secure the win.
Crean Lutheran Coach Austin Loeb said he was proud of the way his team responded in the second half.
“Kudos to all the guys with the way they played in the second half,” said Loeb. “Nick (Giarrusso) helped us pressure the ball and that helped us free up Hunter to hit 3s. Caden (Jones) helped carry us in the first half. We used our size and our length and it made the difference. We also got a lot of energy from our fans who filled up half the gym. They drove all the way out here to support us and they were loud and supportive.”
Rancho Christian’s Coach Jalen Lake said the better team won tonight.
“They executed better and they wanted it more than we did,” said Lake. “We missed out opportunity to increase our lead and we did not capitalize. We also gave up too many second chance points. They were the better team and they served to win.”
Profit scored 19 points and Tony Rutledge added 15 points for the Eagles (22-10).
NOTES:
—-No. 21-seeded Rancho Christian defeated St. Francis, Cypress and Millikan to reach the semifinals.
—Crean Lutheran defeated Santa Barbara, Corona Santiago and Village Christian in the first three rounds of the playoffs. The Saints have won six straight games and 10 of their last 11 games. Rancho Christian lost for only the second time in 17 games.
—Crean Lutheran lost to Los Alamitos in the semifinals last season.
—-Despite the loss, Rancho Christian will compete in the CIF So Cal regional tournament following the CIF finals.
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