Lions give La Salle a lesson in defense

WENDY PIERRO/Acorn Newspapers DRIBBLE-DRIVE—OCHS senior Jules Sharpe slashes to the basket during Tuesday night's 66-52 win over visiting La Salle. The Oaks Christian boys' basketball team made it look easy.

Fueled by 19 points from senior guard Tyler McGrath and 15 points from senior forward Corey Ghilarducci, Oaks Christian never trailed in beating La Salle, 66-52, in a CIFSouthern Section Division IVA quarterfinal game Tuesday night at OCHS.

McGrath, the Lions' leading scorer during the regular season, said staying composed and on an even-keel throughout the contest was his team's top priority in front of its home fans.

"We actually have a funny team," McGrath said. "When we're pumped up and ready to go, we play bad. But when we come in a little more nonchalant, we play well."

The Lions (25-3) will play Chaminade (19-11) Friday at 7 p.m. at CLU. Chaminade upset Orange Lutheran, the division's top seed, in the quarterfinals.

At stake Friday is a trip to the Division IVA championship, to be played at Mater Dei or Colony high schools on March 5 or 6.

"We're going to have to play a lot better than we did (Tuesday)," Ghilarducci said.

Despite battling some offensive shooting woes, the Lions built a 27-21 halftime lead against La Salle thanks, in large part, to their tough defense.

Two players, Kelly Assinesi and Matt Nolan, had 14 of La Salle's 21 first-half points. The others were being shut down.

"We really established ourselves on defense first, and that's where it all started for our offense," said Ghilarducci, who had nine first-half points.

"Once we start to get transition baskets off steals or quick rebounds, we're hard to stop."

The Lions' lead doubled by the end of the third quarter, to 45-32, and by that time OCHS was beginning to shoot well, too.

It was a lights-out combination for La Salle.

"At halftime, our coach talked to us and told us we needed to play better, to stop giving up so many easy baskets and get going," senior guard Jules Sharpe said. "We did our best to do that."

A pair of sophomores, point guard Taylor Hange and center Dillon Van Der Wal, each had nine points for Oaks Christian. Sophomore guard Jono Wening added five points. Sharpe chipped in with three.

While the challenge of getting past Chaminade looms large for the Lions, McGrath said his teammates will be up to the task.

Oaks Christian's athletic teams have won 25 CIFSS banners in less than a decade. The first of the lot, however, came in boys' basketball in 2003, and it remains the program's only section title to date.

"That's what we've been preaching since Day 1—to bring this program back to where it's supposed to be," McGrath said.

"I think we can beat anyone right now. I don't want to be too confident, but when we're playing well, I can see us taking it."