Lions roar early in boys’ basketball playoffs

HEATHER O'QUINN/The Acorn TEAM DEFENSE--Brothers Matt (No. 22) and Mike (No. 24) Hornbuckle of Oaks Christian put up a fight against Valley Christian's offense in the third quarter during last Friday's game.

The Oaks Christian Lions continued to roar last Friday night as they rolled past Cerritos Valley Christian in boys’ basketball at the Dallas Athletic Center. The Lions’ victory over the Crusaders in the second round of the Division IV-AA tournament secured their spot in the quarterfinal matchup that occurred Tuesday. OCHS beat St Bernard, 83-51, and Mike Hornbuckle scored 23 points.

The Lions first playoff game of the year appeared sloppy in the first quarter as both teams missed a lot of shots and free throws. No more than two points separated them as they traded baskets and ended up knotted at 11-11 at the end of the first quarter.

The second quarter started to heat up when Lions junior guard Bryan Chase intercepted an out of bounds pass to score and start a rally of six unanswered points. Turnovers and lane violations prevented Valley Christian from getting a handle on things as first team All-Leaguers Sean Adams, senior forward, and junior/guard Hornbuckle double-teamed the Crusaders on more than one occasion, forcing turnovers that resulted in Oaks Christian baskets.

Valley Christian eventually rebounded on back-to-back three-point plays by juniors Ray Atkins and Matt Tien. But it wasn’t enough to even the score as Lions junior forward Alec Avedissian scored six of Oaks Christian’s last eight points when he nailed a three-pointer, a layup and a free throw as the first half came to a close.

The Lions were a shaky one for nine from the three-point line at the end of the first half.

"We needed to move the ball against their zone," said Lions’ head coach Gary Abraham. "I knew we were better shooters than that. I told them at the half not to shoot the ball as quick."

It looked as though the teams were pretty evenly matched with only an eight-point difference to start the third quarter when Abraham called for a full-court press and the Crusaders started to unravel.

"We were a little nervous to start out the game," said Abraham, "but our pressure wore them down in the second half." A series of Crusader fouls and turnovers allowed the Lions to steadily pull ahead. With 30 seconds left in the third, Hornbuckle pulled down Joe Giuliani’s three-point attempt, moved to the outer circle and found the mark as the Lions moved ahead by 16.

Avedissian claimed the first five points of the fourth quarter as he scored on an eight-foot jumper, then drove the lane, made his shot, drew a foul and made the free throw as the Lions extended their lead. The Crusaders first two points of the fourth quarter came on a pair of free throws from sophomore guard Mario Parrish with 4:52 left in the game.

The Lions worked their full court press off-and-on throughout the fourth quarter and continued the rout. Avedissian, Hornbuckle and Adams combined for 40 points as the Lions cruised to a 72-40 win.

"When we play like a team we’re pretty good," said Abraham. "It wasn’t our best effort, but we’ll take it and improve on it for the next game." Oaks Christian advanced with a record of 20-4 and Valley Christian fell to 15-13 on the season.