Boys Basketball: Maranatha Shows its Mettle Friday; Minutemen Fight Through Adversity, Down St. John Bosco in Playoff Overtime Thriller

By Brian Reed-Baiotto, Sports Editor How can Maranatha accurately measure its composure and ability to thrive in the clutch? The Minutemen took a 3-point lead over Trinity League power, and No. 3 seed St. John Bosco with just 3 seconds to play in the second round of the CIF-SS Division 1-AA playoffs. The Braves, though, […]

By Brian Reed-Baiotto, Sports Editor

How can Maranatha accurately measure its composure and ability to thrive in the clutch?

The Minutemen took a 3-point lead over Trinity League power, and No. 3 seed St. John Bosco with just 3 seconds to play in the second round of the CIF-SS Division 1-AA playoffs.

The Braves, though, set up and executed a terrific play to send the game to overtime.

That would be discouraging, right?

With that momentum, the visitors from Bellflower held tight to a 3-point lead with approximately one minute to play.

It was certain that St. John Bosco, with their momentum and experience in arguably the best (Trinity) league in So Cal, and that lead would hold off the Minutemen, right?

Nope!

Maranatha went on a 6-0 spurt with under a minute to play and defeated the mighty Braves, 66-63, in overtime.

Terrance Lang, also a star on the Maranatha football team was the game’s biggest stud.

Lang scored 22 points, had 10 rebounds, a couple blocked shots and he went 8 of 10 from the free-throw line.

“We talked about it all year, we play great ball in January or February,” Maranatha coach Tim Tucker said. “We couldn’t be more proud of them. We played good basketball and never quit. There is a different bounce in Terrance. We beat a very good and well-coached team in Matt Dunn and St. John Bosco tonight, and it took a lot of heart.”

Chris Austin had 18 points and 6 rebounds and Sean Espinosa scored 12 points and dished out 8 assists for the Minutemen.

“This was a great team win for us, and it most definitely builds our confidence for these upcoming games,” Espinosa said. “We kept our composure down the stretch, and we always fought back whenever they went on their runs, and made a big run of our own. I’m very proud of the way our guys handled this game and never gave up. and showed everyone what we’re made of.”

Jesse Elrod finished with 8 points and neared 10 rebounds for Maranatha.

“It was a great win tonight,” Jesse Elrod said. I’d say the best win in Maranatha history, in my opinion. We never gave up on plays throughout the game and when we made a bad play, we always bounced back and got a big defensive stop. We never lost hope and it was just a great team win.”

Marantha hopes to continue its magical ride when they travel to Hemet on Tuesday night at 7 to take on Tahquitz (24-4)

Box Score:
SJ Bosco: 13-7-18-25-(63)
Maranatha: 12-8-22-24-(66)

 

 

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