Falcons Fly Into Finals

Danny Pina leads the Falcons into the Finals.

By Tim Peterson

(Duarte) – Duarte raced out to a big halftime lead and never looked back in a 87-47 rout of St. Monica Academy Friday night to advance to the CIF Division 5A Finals.

Danny Pina led the Falcons charge with 32 points overall, including 20 in a first half in which Duarte ran out to a 51-22 lead. The Falcons jumped out quick with a huge 29 point  first quarter, then hit St. Monica with a 22-2 run to open the second quarter to ice it by halftime. Duarte outscored St. Monica 22-4 in the quarter for a 29 point lead at the break.

The Falcons cruised the rest of the way and Duarte Coach Earl Sanchez emptied his bench in the fourth quarter. The bench picked up right where the starters left off as they won the fourth 22-7.

Eli Baxter gets two of his 14.

Duarte had four players in double figures as Eli Baxter had 14 points including three three pointers, Devon Hensley had 12 inside, and Isaiah Aceves also nailed three from downtown and finished with 11.

St. Monica struggled mightily from the field all night. Peter Ford led the team with 16 points. In the second quarter the Crusaders shot two of 15 from the field managing just four points. St. Monica was never able to recover.

Next up for Duarte is a Finals matchup next weekend with Da Vinci Design Academy, 81-46 winners over Calvary Baptist.

7 Comments to "Falcons Fly Into Finals"

  1. Falcon's Gravatar Falcon
    February 27, 2018 - 10:16 am | Permalink

    PINA is a Duarte kid. Pina family Has lived about half a mile away from DHS. He has lived at his current location longer than the time he spent at Monrovia.. Hemsley is also a Duarte kid that has spend his time here since a freshman.

  2. Transfers's Gravatar Transfers
    February 26, 2018 - 9:57 pm | Permalink

    Yep Duarte is a perfect storm, they had been really bad and then they got two trnasfers to lead them in the aransfer from Monrovia in Pina, the transfer from the Pasadena area in Hemsley, toss in a few athletes that always roam around Duarte’s campus and a few of the kids that have been in the program to be solid role players and its the perfect scenario for an easy CIF championsip, maybe one of the easiest ever by winning every game by 40+.

  3. Ron Vrooman, AHS stat man's Gravatar Ron Vrooman, AHS stat man
    February 26, 2018 - 12:57 am | Permalink

    This setup came from the same organization that gave us the weird football playoff divisions, so the fact that it’s flawed isn’t a big surprise. I believe the CIF Southern Section needs to go back to the drawing board.

  4. Anonymous's Gravatar Anonymous
    February 25, 2018 - 7:20 pm | Permalink

    If any of you have watched Duarte boys basketball they have not been good for a long time. This season was the first season in years that was a success

  5. Agreed's Gravatar Agreed
    February 25, 2018 - 1:49 pm | Permalink

    Two Pennies makes an excellent point: CIF’s computers have gifted Duarte with a title that is probably easier to win than if the Falcons were playing girls teams. Wigod’s thinking here is that Duarte will now be energized to excel in other sports, and gullible parents and alums will flock to buy tickets. Sorry Rob, the rabble is not that dumb.

  6. HOT ROD's Gravatar HOT ROD
    February 24, 2018 - 12:50 am | Permalink

    Saw the score updates. Great job, great win guys. Good luck in the final

  7. My Two Cents's Gravatar My Two Cents
    February 24, 2018 - 12:27 am | Permalink

    How is Duarte in the same division with these teams? Calvary Baptist, really? They play second tier eight man football. Duarte wins the final in another blowout!

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