Moreau Catholic held onto a slim three-point lead with three minutes left in Saturday afternoon’s game against a 20-1 Folsom team.
As the seconds ticked away, two Mariners pushed the team to what coach Frank Knight called the team’s biggest win of the season at the “Crush in the Valley” showcase.
In his first game back after missing three weeks with an injury, senior wing Lebrie Goudy-Lee scored 22 points in Moreau’s 70-63 upset victory. That included a run of seven straight points late in the fourth quarter.
“Ever since we saw that Folsom was on our schedule, we’ve been looking forward to this game,” Goudy-Lee said.
Goudy-Lee hit two free throws, nailed a three-pointer, and then threw down a two-handed dunk to put Moreau Catholic (12-5) up 64-58. The senior got a technical after the dunk and sat out the rest of the game.
“He helps us rebound the ball and is all over the glass and all over the floor,” Knight said. “It’s good to have him back.”
With Goudy-Lee no longer available, prolific scorer Kellen Hampton closed out the game. After Folsom’s CJ Willemborg connected on a spot-up three to cut the lead to 64-42, Hampton came back with an acrobatic scoop layup to make it a two-possession game.
Hampton then made four consecutive free throws as Moreau Catholic salted away the hard-earned victory. Hampton finished the game with 30 points.
“Kellen is my dog, and I’ve known him since I was nine years old,” Goudy-Lee said. “I’m really happy to be playing with him, and he’s going to be something amazing one day.”
Moreau Catholic trailed 34-31 at halftime but led 50-43 after the end of the third quarter.
The Mariners will now resume league play, and Knight believes their high-profile win over one of central California’s best teams should help the team as it inches closer to the playoffs.
“This shows us that we can play with the best teams in the state,” Knight said. “We want to use this win like a springboard into the rest of the season and into the playoffs.”
Bishop O’Dowd 65, Grant-Sacramento 57
The exact same scene repeated itself five times in the fourth quarter of Bishop O’Dowd’s 65-57 win over Grant in the “Crush in the Valley.”
Grant-Sacramento would trap the ballhandler up top or on the wing in a 1-3-1 alignment. Amos Hodgson would then float into the corner, spot up and make a wide-open three-pointer before the baseline defender could recover.
“I was just taking whatever they were giving me,” said the senior Hodgson, who finished with 26 points and eight made triples. “The game plan for us is, if someone is hot, just keep feeding them the rock. The hot hand is just going to keep getting hotter. ”
Bishop O’Dowd had a 36-25 lead going into halftime, and controlled the game on the offensive boards. Joshua Green scored 12 points, and Miles Burrows scored nine while also crashing the boards at every opportunity with Tobias Aisien.
“Tobias really set the tone today, the ‘We’re here to rep The Bay’ kind of tone,” Hodgson said.
Jordan Bobo scored 23 and Kiku Parker scored 21 for Grant.
Source: www.mercurynews.com