Showtime: Modesto Christian, Idehen slam Buffaloes to reach semis

Jay Chen and Robinson Idehen settled into seats along the baseline for Monday’s late game at the Modesto Christian Holiday Hoop Classic.

Hoods on. Arms folded across their chests.

It was a subdued moment for a pair of Crusaders whose daring creativity just 20 minutes earlier provided the final dagger in a 59-43 victory over Manteca in the quarterfinal round.

Chen leaked out in transition after an errant pass by the Buffaloes, throwing a lob pass off the backboard for the trailer — Idehen, a 6-foot-10 senior forward.

Idehen collected the ball in mid-air and unleashed a thunderous two-handed dunk over Manteca’s Tydus Verhoeven, who got caught up in the wash.

Just like that, the Crusaders were through to the semifinal round of their own event for the third consecutive year. Modesto Christian (8-1) will play Salesian College Preparatory on Tuesday at 6 p.m.

Salesian dispatched Centennial of Bakersfield, 71-52, in the game Chen and Idehen watched under hoods as their highlight bounced around the Twitter-verse.

The Crusaders have reached the final in two of the last years, but haven’t lifted the trophy since 2005.

“This was important,” Idehen said. “We’re trying to bring (the Holiday Hoop Classic championship) back this year.”

Modesto Christian leaned on its pedigree to wear down a team that had leapfrogged it in the regional ranking. The Buffaloes (9-1) entered the game No. 7 in NorCalPreps’ latest poll, four spots ahead of the Crusaders (8-1).

“You have a program that is very used to winning and that’s our culture,” said Midgley, who started alongside former NBA player Chuck Hayes on the Crusaders’ 2001 team, the best in program history.

“Just mentally, regardless of the situation in the game, there’s an expectation that whatever happens we’re going to win. At times, when we’re not playing well, we find ways to make plays and stay ahead. Today, we managed to break it open.”

The Crusaders outscored Manteca 23-9 over the final 10 minutes, 46 seconds, blowing open a one-possession game.

Manteca had cut the deficit to two with a 9-0 run. Dwight Young (nine points), who had five three-pointers and 25 points in Saturday’s victory over Freedom, drained a trey and Kenny Wooten sank two free throws to make it 36-34 with 2:26 left in the third.

Manteca wouldn’t score again until the 6:16 mark in the fourth quarter.

After knocking down 10 threes against Freedom, the Buffaloes were 1-of-10 from beyond the arc.

“That was our main focus, defensively. Just watching the film of the Freedom game, they have the size but their three-point shots won them the game,” Midgley said. “We faced-guarded (Young and Frankie Lopez). The bigs made some plays, but their three-point shots give them energy. We really defended the three-point line well.”

Locked in a matchup of fast-rising big men with the Nevada-bound Wooten (10 points, seven rebounds, four blocked shots), Idehen elevated his game in the fourth quarter. He scored seven of his team-high 16 points over the final eight minutes, fueling the Crusaders’ 18-9 final kick.

Idehen scored six straight points in the fourth, capped by his two-handed slam in transition that forced Manteca to burn a timeout down 49-37.

Midgley held his breath as Chen passed up the high-percentage shot — an uncontested layup — and flipped the ball off the backboard.

“In practice, they do it all the time so I know they’ve practiced it a lot,” Midgley said. “But in a tight game, if he would have missed it, they’d probably be running. But the way it worked out, it was a great highlight.”

Robinson said he had no inclination Chen would throw the pass off the backboard, or that Verhoeven (18 points, nine rebounds) was scrambling back on defense. He simply reacted.

See ball. Dunk ball.

“I didn’t know he was going to throw it. You have coach on the sideline saying, ‘Finish it, Jay, finish it,’ ” Idehen said. “He threw it. I caught it and dunked it. It was great and it helped the team.

“Sometimes we run lob plays (in practice),” he added, “but they don’t usually work in games.”

Christian Ellis had 11 points, 10 rebounds and four assists, but was reduced to a spectator during the Crusaders’ fourth-quarter push because of foul trouble.

Ellis was whistled for his fourth foul on the first series of the fourth quarter.

His absence thrust others into the spotlight. Reserve forward Nico Rojas Rojas logged 15 minutes and finished with eight points and four rebounds. His put-back at the end of the third quarter gave Modesto Christian a 41-34 advantage.

However, Midgley was more impressed with Rojas Rojas’ defense in the post. The 6-foot-4 senior gave away five inches to both Wooten and Anand Hundal, who had a combined three points in the second half.

“We have a lot of individual talent. Like I told them in (the locker room), there are little opportunities they have in these big games; it’s an opportunity for them to step up,” Midgley said. “We’re not solely relying on one guy. We have a lot of players that can make plays and it helped us tonight.”

This story was originally published December 28, 2015 at 10:16 PM with the headline "Showtime: Modesto Christian, Idehen slam Buffaloes to reach semis."