Welcome back, fellas: Williams, Pearson push pace for Crusaders

Michael Pearson spent last week in a walking boot, hobbling in and out of the huddle. Tyler Williams, a sky-walking junior, was grounded, too, with a groin injury.

Both Modesto Christian High School boys basketball players returned to the starting lineup Wednesday evening with seemingly fresh legs, conducting an 86-64 victory over Modesto.

Williams had 21 points and eight rebounds, while Pearson, a fearless freshman, scored 11 points for the Crusaders, who have won 13 consecutive games despite a rash of injuries that has forced coach Brice Fantazia to get creative with his rotations.

Even Wednesday’s starting lineup featured a twist.

Leading scorer Darrian Grays didn’t check in until the 5:03 mark in the second quarter. His return, however, sparked the game’s decisive run.

Modesto closed to within 26-20 on a jumper and two free throws by Paxton Sweeney, but Modesto Christian broke away with a 17-3 push.

Grays, a sharp-shooting senior, wasted no time putting his stamp on the clash of Modesto Metro heavies. He buried back-to-back 3-pointers as the Crusaders built a 43-25 lead at the intermission.

Grays finished with 16 points, connecting on four of the team’s nine 3-point baskets.

With a feathery jumper, freshman Baljot Sahi also knocked down three 3s, including a wide-open look in transition to start the flurry. Sahi took advantage of Grays’ absence, scoring all 11 of his points in the first half.

Modesto had no answer.

The Panthers pushed the Crusaders for three quarters in their first meeting before falling off in the fourth and losing 80-68. This time, the game spun away from them early.

Modesto turned the ball over 10 times in the first half – seven times in the second quarter alone – and Ryan Silva was limited to just two points in the first 16 minutes. In their last meeting, Silva dictated the terms, scoring 12 of his team-high 19 in the first half.

Silva finished with 11 on Wednesday, but most of those points came in garbage time with the Crusaders leading by as many as 25.

Esteban Martin led Modesto with 19 points, outplaying his taller counterpart, 6-foot-8 junior Gabe Murphy, who fouled out on a technical with just three points, five rebounds and one blocked shot.

Markus Brady had 10 points and 11 rebounds for the Panthers, who had their two-game winning streak snapped. Modesto (13-9) is now 7-3 in conference play, one game behind Beyer, which handled Sylvan Avenue rival Enochs 75-21, in the race for the MMC title.

Modesto Christian (17-5, 10-0) isn’t eligible to win the league title. At this point, the Crusaders’ motivation is to simply to get healthy in time to defend their Sac-Joaquin Section Division I championship.

Wednesday was encouraging.

Williams, Pearson and Kwaheri Rue played significant minutes after missing time last week. Williams sat out victories against Johansen and Davis, while Rue, a midseason transfer from Patterson High, missed the Davis game with tendinitis in his knee.

Rue had seven points against the Panthers.

Pearson was back in the starting lineup after missing four games with what Fantazia feared was a season-ending foot fracture. The dynamic point guard, who has filled the void left by 2015-16 All-District co-Player of the Year Christian Ellis, rolled his foot during a defensive drill in practice and his doctor initially diagnosed a fracture.

The injury was downgraded late last week and Pearson returned to practice Monday.

He showed no ill effects or rust.

Pearson attacked the lane, beating Modesto’s Martin and Sweeney with floaters and spins off the glass. In the second quarter, he knifed through the lane and switched to his left hand for a creative finish.

He set the speed, and Williams took flight.

The fast-rising junior threw down two dunks in the first quarter – a one-handed flush in transition and then a two-handed rip off a rebound to make it 12-9. On the next offensive possession, he bounced a pass ahead to Chris Brown (nine points), triggering a 10-2 run to close the first quarter.

Sahi drilled a 3-pointer at the horn to make it 20-11, and the rout was on.

Modesto Christian has a difficult back-to-back this weekend. The Crusaders travel to Gregori on Friday and Capital Christian in Sacramento on Saturday.

This story was originally published February 1, 2017 at 10:48 PM with the headline "Welcome back, fellas: Williams, Pearson push pace for Crusaders."