Crean Lutheran’s Hunter Caplan shoots over Myles Mobley of Village Christian Tuesday night. (Photos courtesy Crean Lutheran Shutterbugs, John Luciano, Ted Rigoni and Howard Lyon).
Top-seeded Crean Lutheran dominated from the opening tip-off and cruised to an 83-58 victory over No. 8 seed Village Christian in a CIF Division 1 quarterfinal boys basketball game before a capacity crowd Tuesday night at Crean Lutheran.
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Crean Lutheran (24-7) never trailed in the game. The Saints played a nearly perfect game while advancing into the semifinals Friday night at Temecula to face Rancho Christian, which defeated Millikan on Tuesday. The Saints have won five consecutive games and nine of their last 10.
“I think this was our best game of the season,” said Crean Lutheran junior guard Hunter Caplan, who led all scorers with 21 points. “We know what was at stake and as a No. 1 seed we wanted to execute our brand of basketball and we did that.”
Crean Lutheran senior center Chadrack Mpoyi got the Saints off to a fast start and he revved up his teammates and the home crowd by slamming down back-to-back dunks and giving Crean Lutheran a 9-2 lead at the 6:03 mark of the opening quarter.
The visiting Crusaders cut the lead to three points midway through the period, but Bryce Coleman nailed a 3-pointer and added two free throws to give the Saints a 23-15 lead at the end of the first quarter.
Crean Lutheran’s starting five (Caden Jones, Caplan, Nicholas Giarrusso, Jacob Majok and Mpoyi) then took over every aspect of the game in the second quarter and outscored Village Christian 24-8 in the second period and built a commanding 47-23 lead at halftime.
The Saints scored on 11 of their 14 possessions in the quarter, led by Caplan’s 11 points in the period. Crean Lutheran dominated the boards, moved effectively on offense, played aggressive defense, passed the ball to perfection, and outhustled the Crusaders, and never its foot off the gas.
“We played hard, had great energy and we were focused,” said Mpoyi, who scored 20 points, had double-digit rebounds, and six block shots.
Village Christian couldn’t find a way to stop the Minnesota-commit 6-11 center.
High scoring Crusaders freshman guard Will Conroy Jr., averaging 26 points per game, was held to 17 points, with 10 of those points coming in the second half when the outcome of the game was no longer in question.
“We played these guys in Hawaii earlier in the season, so we knew what we needed to do,” said Giarrusso, who scored 12 points in the game and had a strong game on the boards and helped disrupt the Village Christian offense with his aggressive defensive play throughout the game. “We wanted to take Conroy out of his game and we did that. The crowd gave us a lot of energy, and we knew we were the better team.”
What was further impressive was the energy the Saints displayed in the third quarter, despite having a large lead at halftime. Crean Lutheran kept the pressure on Village Christian (24-7) and scored on 11 of their 14 possessions in the period to take a 73-37 lead after three quarters.
Majok drilled three 3-pointers in the final 3:18 of the period and Mpoyi added eight points helping the Saints outscore the Crusaders 26-14 in the quarter.
“We had momentum at halftime, but we said we’re starting the second half like the score is 0-0,” said Majok, who had four 3-pointers in the game.
In the final quarter Saints Coach Austin Loeb was able to play many of the reserves much to the delight of the crowd.
“We executed our game plan from the very start and never let up,” Loeb said. “Our defense dictated our offense. These guys prepared really hard for this game and we were focused. I think we’re playing our basketball of the season right now.”
Jones credited the entire team.
“We played together as one unit and we had each other’s backs,” said Jones, who scored nine points and had an incredible defensive game. “We gained momentum in the second quarter and kept the gas on the pedal in the second half and played with a lot of energy.”
Village Christian Coach Julian Andrade credited Crean Lutheran with an outstanding performance.
“We couldn’t stop their bigs or their guards; they were too much for us tonight and their crowd was a factor and made it a tough environment for us,” said Andrade. “Give them credit, they executed their game. However, it was fantastic season for us. It was a season of growth. We won 24 games, won our league, and we moved up to Division 1 from Division 2 last year.”
Village Christian lost for only the second time in 16 games and were defeated by double digits for only the second time this season. Dylan Graham also scored 14 points for the Crusaders.
Notes:
—-By winning Tuesday night, Crean Lutheran qualified for the CIF So Cal Regionals which will be held after the CIF finals.
—VIllage Christian played without junior forward Pedro Villanueva, who suffered an ACL injury in Village Christian’s opening round playoff game. Villanueva was the Crusaders leading rebounder and leading field goal percentage shooter.
—-Crean Lutheran defeated Village Christian, 69-64, in the championship game of the of the Tony Sellehito Hawaai’i Invitational on Dec. 6, 2025, in Oahu.
—Crean Lutheran, champions of the Crestview League this season, improved to 10-0 at home this season.
—-Crusaders freshmen guard Myles Mobley is the son of former LA Clipper Cuttino Mobley, who played in the NBA from 1998-2008 and averaged 13.3 points. Mobley also played for the Orlando Magic, Sacramento Kings, and Houston Rockets. Myles Mobley scored 8 points Tuesday night’s game.
—Commenting on last Friday’s double overtime victory at Corona Santiago, Saints coach Austin Loeb said, “Every championship run has a game like that. We were down with seven seconds to play in regulation, but we banded together and showed how tough we were and won that game. I’m proud of our guys; they showed real resiliency knowing that it was single elimination and our season would have been over if we lost.”
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