Guards Fight Back, Beat Salesian!

LOS ANGELES - Just one short week after defeating the St. Genevive Valiants , the Bell-Jeff Guards went on the road again and repeated the feat overcoming a 10 point lead in the fourth quarter to beat the Mustangs 64-62.

The Guards scored first and ran an uptempo game and got most of their points inside to go into halftime with the lead. Salesian mainly settled for jumpers, missing several open shots but, were able to stay within striking distance at the free throw line.

Salesian coach David Martinez regrouped his team at halftime and they came out for the third quarter with a more methodical approach, running their offense and getting easy baskets inside to take the lead at the end of the third.

Bell-Jeff showed determination and fought back with tenacious play from sophomore Andre Frazier and junior Micah Shirley before the Mustangs answered with a run of their own thanks to a barrage of three pointers from senior guard Mike Ruiz  building a 10 point lead with only three minuets left in the game.

Coach Camacho decided he had seen enough and called timeout to rally his troops for one last push. The Guards returned to the floor with a lineup of Emery Else, Micah Shirley, Andre Frazier, Elijah Reed and junior transfer Chris Issakhanian who preceded to go on a defensive tear getting steals, challenging shots and snatching rebounds.

Then, two big three point shots from Chris Issakhanian and a basket and a basket from Emery Else put the guards right back in it.

Free throws from Else, Frazier and Issakhanian pushed the lead to 5 before Mustang leading scorer guard Mike Ruiz, who somehow remained in the game with five fouls, hit a three pointer of his own followed by two free throws to tie the game. Then, a quick steal and basket from senior Emery Else back  and with only seconds left, sophomore Elijah Reed forced Christian Robles to turn the ball over and the game was all but over.

Salesian had one last chance to tie the game but Ruiz missed a layup attempt at the buzzer giving the Guards victories from the freshman, JV and varsity teams for the second week in a row.

The win evens Bell-Jeff’s (12-5) league record to 2-2.

Salesian (10-12) falls to 2-2 in league tied with Bell-Jeff for second place and a spot in the CIF playoffs.

When asked his thoughts after the game, coach Camacho said, “This is a great win for us. To my knowledge, this is the first time in the eleven years I’ve been involved at Bell-Jeff as a teacher, coach or athletic director, that the boys varsity basketball team has beaten Salesian on their home floor.

The guys demonstrated character, will and determination and I’m real proud of the way they stayed together and believed in each other.

It’s easy to point fingers and stop playing when you’re down by 10 points with less than three minuets left to play in the game. From this win, we’re hoping to make a great run to the championship”.

Next up for the Guards, a tuneup game in Upland against Western Christian on Tuesday night,  then they will seek revenge against Santa Fe league leader St. Anthony who travel to Burbank on Friday night.

Story by: Eric “Rico” Reed