Heritage Christian boys basketball uses well-rounded effort to beat Village Christian
NORTH HILLS — Heritage Christian’s elite senior duo of Dillan Shaw and Tae Simmons have been nearly unstoppable this year, helping lead the boys basketball team to an 18-2 record.
The supporting cast has stepped up this year, too.
Seniors Freddie Crawford and Jesse Tweneboah have provided steady leadership and veteran decision-making. Sophomores Dominic Loehle and Max Hackney have supplied boosts of energy when the team is in a lull. Freshman Eli Simmons is a spark off the bench who can rebound and score.
The supporting cast shined Tuesday night for Heritage Christian in an Olympic League rivalry game against Village Christian, helping secure a 72-41 victory for the Warriors.
Crawford poured in eight points in a hurry in the first quarter and hit his first three 3-point attempts. He finished with 19 points and made five 3-pointers.
Tweneboah’s contributions don’t show up on the box score necessarily, but he consistently made the right play. Whether it was finding an open teammate to the tune of seven assists, taking care of the ball under pressure, or sticking to his defensive assignment like glue.
“They need us. They can’t do everything every night. One of the reasons we fell short is because we relied on them too much,” Crawford said about taking some of the pressure off Shaw and Simmons. “So I know Jesse and I, we worked out a lot over the summer to make sure we can take some of the pressure off of them.”
“It was really a call to arms this summer and fall. Can you do your role to the best of your ability,” Heritage Christian head coach Paul Tait said. “Everything Jesse does, his poise, his composure, he is so calm with those guys out there. Guys like Dom and Max, he came in and got some big rebounds, some great defense. Dom, as a sophomore, is super young. He’s got a lot of time. Again, buying into his role.”
With the role players doing their part and the offense humming, Heritage Christian (3-0 league) was also able to lock in defensively, holding Village Christian (9-8 overall, 1-1 league) to a season-low in points.
The Warriors recorded double-digit steals as a team and Shaw had four second-half blocks.
The Saint Mary’s commit seemed to get more energized as the game went along, showing his passion with a yell after each blocked shot.
“I feel like defense wins championships and defense gets our offense going,” Shaw said. “Even if our offense isn’t going, one block and a transition bucket will get us rolling. I would say that playing defense just fuels our offense.”
Shaw finished with 23 points, eight rebounds and four assists to go along with his four blocks. Simmons totaled 22 points, 14 rebounds and had a pair of blocks.
The duo made it a point to attack in the paint, maneuvering inside to get good looks at the basket and creating contact to get to the foul line.
They attempted 21 free throws combined, making 17 of them.
Delijah McAlpin and Andy Porcayo led the way for Village Christian with 10 points apiece. Deion Lewis scored nine points and Aaro Salo had five points and seven rebounds.
Heritage Christian will face its next Olympic League test on Friday against Maranatha on the road. The Warriors have won 11 straight league games dating back to last season.
Village Christian hosts Whittier Christian on Thursday. The two teams already met earlier this season, with Village Christian coming out on top 95-40.