Oliver is all smiles with a quarterfinal appearance. Photo by Anne Cypress.
(Pasadena) – A formula of hot shooting from the field in the first quarter for La Salle and ice-cold shooting from Maranatha allowed the Lancers to advance to the quarterfinals of Division 4A playoffs with a 67-50 victory.
“We wanted to put the crowd out of the game early,” said Lancers head coach Steve Goldstein. “It also didn’t hurt that every time we have more than one player in double-digit scoring we have a good shot at a win.”
Matt Nolan scored a game-high 24 points and Army-bound guard Michael Edwards poured in 17 to help the Lancers get one step closer to realizing their goal of a CIF title.
The cross-town rivalry never developed as the Minutemen scored on their first possession of the game and were unable to make another shot until the buzzer of the first quarter when Robert Schneider hit a five-foot bank shot to stop La Salle’s 17-0 run.
The slow start proved costly for Maranatha as the Lancers shot 51% from the field in the first half and took a 12 point lead into the break.
Balance scoring also contributed to La Salle’s victory as three players scored in double-digits as Josh Anderson finished with 13 points to go along with Nolan and Edwards.
Minutemen freshman phenom Jeremy Major played with the maturity of a senior-leader with his team-high 21 points. Major single-handedly kept the Maranatha in the game during the second quarter.
Jeremy Major led the Minutemen in scoring. Photo by Anne Cypress.
“The coaching staff saw something that we could exploit with Jeremy,” said Minutemen head coach Tim Godley. “Major is only going to get better, he is only a freshman.”
It would not be enough for the Minutemen to get back in the game as early slow-start was enough to keep the Lancers ahead for the remainder of the game.
La Salle would have to sweat it out early in the fourth quarter as Major buried a three-pointer from the top of the arc to close Maranatha within 11 with six minutes remaining.
The Lancers would respond as Ryan Akinbayode and Nolan scored on successive possessions to extend the lead back to 16 with less than four minutes to play in the game.
The final three minutes saw La Salle continue to pressure the Minutemen and didn’t allow them any breathing room as they closed on a 7-3 run.
Matt Nolan continues to dominate in the playoffs. Photo by Anne Cypress.
LA SALLE 17 17 15 18 67
MARANATHA 4 18 14 14 50
SCORING:
LA SALLE: Matt Nolan 24, Michael Edwards 17, Josh Anderson 13, Ryan Akinbayode 6, Ian Schuler 5, Darryl Oliver 2
MARANATHA: Jeremy Major 21, RJ Straker 7, Josh Chamberlain 7, Stephen Von Spronsen 7, Dominic Johnson 4, Robert Schneider 2, Isaiah Braithwaite 2
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