Up nine with four minutes left, MC hoops falters and falls to Sheldon in title game.
Modesto Christian boys basketball coach Brice Fantazia huddled his team around after the Crusaders lost to Sheldon, 64-61 in the CIF Sac-Joaquin Section Division I Championship at the Golden 1 Center on Saturday.
“I told them we beat Sheldon last year and then they went on to win the (CIF State NorCal) Open Division Title,” Fantazia said. “We got 19 section titles, we need an Open Division Title.”
This conversation was done while the Huskies were celebrating a section title that a few minutes before looked the Crusaders’ 20th.
Modesto Christian (25-7) led by nine with 4:29 left before Sheldon went on a 20-8 run to end the game.
“We had a couple of guys that didn’t play well tonight and we got rattled,” Fantazia said.
What happened in those final four minutes?
Fantazia said he would have to watch film to see what really happened but Sheldon was “tougher and more disciplined down the stretch.”
Seeing their lead go down to a tie and then a deficit, the Crusaders tried to get something going on offense but a couple of turnovers proved costly along with cold shooting from the entire team.
“Our guys understand that one possession at any point in the game can swing the game,” Fantazia said. “Tonight, there were two talented teams and they threw punches and we threw punches and they just ended getting us a little bit more.”
Still, despite the turnovers, the Crusaders had a chance to tie the game with 10 seconds left but senior guard Dathan Satchell’s off-balance 3-pointer fell off the left side of the rim and the Huskies (22-10) ran out the clock.
Satchell led the Crusaders with 18 points while senior forward Aaron Murphy added 13 points and 10 rebounds. Senior guards Justin Nguyen and Kaito Williams both had 13 points for the Huskies.
One of the big storylines of the night was the two big men battling injuries for both teams. Huskies junior forward Marcus Bagley, who has a back injury and has missed the entire playoffs, sat out the championship while senior forward Tsotne Tsartsidze made his playoff debut for the Crusaders after dealing with a left ankle injury.
“He want to try and help Aaron and Alex (Merkviladze) a few minutes at a time,” Fantazia said. “He is not in game shape and he was out there hobbling. He is not going to give us much but seeing him out there toughing it out, I am proud of him.”
The first three quarters was a game a runs by the two heavyweights. Sheldon started the game on a 13-3 run, Modesto Christian answered with a 12-2 run of its own.
The Crusaders started the third quarter on a 15-2 run, Sheldon answered with a 7-0.
Despite the defeat, the season isn’t over just yet for the Crusaders as they can still have a chance on a state title.
The CIF NorCal Regionals start Wednesday, when MC hosts Archbishop Mitty of San Jose. MC received a No. 3 seed when pairings were announced Sunday afternoon.
This story was originally published February 23, 2019 at 11:21 PM.
