Seasoning Sage Hill’s consolation

Barry Faulkner

Still just seven games into its second varsity season, the Sage

Hill High boys basketball team can gain more from measuring itself

against recognized Orange County competition than quantifying its 2-5

record.

So, when the Lightning dropped a 65-53 first-round pool-play

contest to Santa Ana Monday in the Garden Grove Tournament at Garden

Grove High, Coach Steve Keith assessed his team’s performance in

relative terms.

“Generally, I was pleased we hung with a team that was this

physically gifted,” Keith said of the Saints (4-2), who used their

extreme quickness to force the tempo at both ends of the floor. “It

was a challenge not to get run off the floor by their athleticism and

I think our kids rose to that challenge. They run and jump and trap

on defense, which is the kind of stuff our inexperienced players

haven’t played against very much. We knew we couldn’t run our

straight offense against them, but I was pleased we were able to play

basic basketball and execute fairly well.”

The Lightning was better than fair early on, claiming a 15-14 lead

at the end of the first quarter, behind eight points from 6-foot-3

senior Michael Fitzhugh.

Sage Hill upped the lead to 18-15 with 5:34 left before halftime,

before Santa Ana 6-3 senior guard Derrick Ates scored three straight

baskets to spark an 8-0 Saints run.

Santa Ana led, 29-25, at halftime, but Sage pulled to within 36-33

with 3:00 left in the third quarter.

But the Saints, whose trapping pressure defense helped force 19

Lightning turnovers, went on a 9-0 run for an insurmountable lead.

Though trailing, 46-34, at the end of three periods, Sage Hill’s

field-goal shooting percentage was one point higher than the Saints’

36.5%. But Santa Ana’s 52 shots to that point were 20 more than the

Academy League representative, which has earned its two victories

this season against small private schools.

Fitzhugh, averaging 25.6 points coming in, finished with a

team-high 18 and also chipped in seven rebounds.

Lightning junior Kevin Joyce hit his first three field-goal tries

of the fourth quarter, including two three-pointers, en route to a

16-point output that included four connections from beyond the arc.

But while Sage Hill was making five of its first seven

fourth-quarter field-goal attempts, Santa Ana was drilling five of

its first six to maintain control.

Keith was also pleased with the play of 6-3 senior Scott Cho, who

hauled in 10 rebounds to go with his career-high nine points, most of

which came on strong post moves. Joyce also had 10 boards to share

team-high honors.

Artes and 6-1 junior guard Brandon McGee led the Saints with 18

points apiece, while junior Danny Favela made all four of his

field-goal attempts, including one of his team’s five three-pointers,

to produce nine points.

Sage Hill closes out pool play tonight against Pacifica of Oxnard

at 7:30.