‘They both put it together’: Big men lead Modesto Christian in win over Weston Ranch
In basketball, the best way to neutralize a quick, scrappy team is by pounding the ball inside on offense.
The Modesto Christian boys basketball team had no problem sticking to its gameplan against Weston Ranch in their CIF Sac-Joaquin Section quarterfinals game.
Prince Oyesa and Manasse Itete made their presence in the paint felt early and often for the Crusaders (25-5, 11-1) Monday night. The bigs powered the third seed in Division I to an 82-52 win over the Cougars (19-11, 10-2).
“They’re still learning how to dominate,” said Crusaders coach Brice Fantazia. “I think tonight was the night when they both put it together and (they’re) like, ‘These guys can’t check me.’”
Oyesa finished with a team-high 23 points and 13 rebounds, and Itete had 10 points and 12 rebounds.
A junior, Oyesa tied his season high in points by running the court, collecting offensive rebounds and getting to the free throw line. He combined an all-around stellar offensive performance with his six blocks and adjusted many other shots at the rim.
Oyesa scored 17 points in the second half.
He impressed everyone, including his teammates. Given the magnitude of the game, was this the best they had seen him play?
“Oh, yeah, scoring-wise,” said junior guard Bj Davis. “He does other stuff defensively and rebounding, but scoring, it was definitely his best game.”
Just a sophomore, Itete played through an injury, and in addition to his double double drew five charges, three in the first half, that helped the Crusaders neutralize Weston Ranch when it attacked the paint.
Modesto Christian went into halftime ahead 40-30.
“I thought he did a terrific job,” said Fantazia on Itete’s play. “He drew five charges and played through a wrist injury. We weren’t sure if he was going to play, and at shoot-around this morning, he came in and said, ‘I’ll give you what I got.’”
Oyesa and Itete were among five players who scored in double figures. Jamari Phillips scored 14 points before leaving early in the fourth quarter with an injury, Davis scored 13 points and freshman Zeke Davis continued his good stretch, adding 10 points.
“Our guards are really good and sometimes we do play through our guards and our bigs get lost in the flow,” Fantazia said. “But when we do play through our bigs, I think that takes it to another level.”
Bj Davis returns
Davis made his return to the court Monday night after being out of the Crusaders’ lineup for the last two games, and his presence was felt.
He provided another ball handler on offense and his energy was felt on the defensive end against Weston Ranch’s quick guards.
“His energy was terrific defensively,” Fantazia said. “We needed that tonight. Weston Ranch is a high-octane, high-scoring team and we held them to only 52 points. I thought our defense was outstanding, and he’s a big reason for our defense.”
Davis was rusty. He admits it took a few times up and down the court to get his wind back and get in the flow of the game, but he was glad to be back on the court.
“I felt good,” said Davis. “The first quarter was rough you know with my wind … but for the most part it was great playing back at home.”
Davis is the team’s spark plug and the team had an extra bounce to it, even though Daivs was still a bit rusty after the time he missed.
“He’s that one guy on our team that just has a different speed,” Fantazia said. “I think it helps our offense. Even when he’s not at his best, it just kind of raises everyone’s level of play.”
Playing on the road
Modesto Christian travels to Folsom on Wednesday for a semifinals matchup with the second seed Bulldogs.
The Bulldogs are 23-5 overall and 9-1 in the Sierra Foothill League and are coming off a 62-48 quarterfinals win over Edison-Stockton.
The Crusaders are no strangers to road environments. They traveled to Las Vegas and beat Durango, a top 50 team in the country, and took a break from league play later in the season for a trip to the Midwest where they played in the storied Quincy Shootout tournament as well as Christian Brothers of St. Louis, Mo. on back-to-back days.
“We’re not scared to go play anybody anywhere, I think this is going to be a great game for us.” Fantazia said.
This story was originally published February 22, 2022 at 9:39 AM.
