Huskies get their revenge against Knights in UA semi

By ECS Staff
Updated: December 30, 2015

T.J. Leaf rises for a dunk against Centennial Tuesday night at Torrey Pines High.

2015-16 EAST COUNTY PREP BOYS BASKETBALL

By James McHugh
© East County Sports.com

DEL MAR (12-30-15) — In a complete turn of fortune from one night ago when Foothills Christian cemented their standing as the No. 1 team in San Diego, the Knights turned in a subpar performance on Tuesday (Dec. 29) in their 67-52 loss to Corona Centennial in the semifinal game of the Under Armour Holiday Classic.

Things started out ugly for the Knights and got worse as the night drew on. Though the Knights trailed just 14-10 after a quarter, they never looked in sync. LUIS SALGADO managed to keep things respectable for Foothills Christian, landing his third of four threes on the night late in the second quarter to cut what was an 18 point Centennial lead to 13 at that point. By the half the Knights were down 11 but carried no momentum into the locker room.

After the game assistant coach TROY LEAF reflected on the Knights’ downfall after such a big win the previous night (Dec. 28), “We wanted to come out and play inside out but we took way too many jump shots early in the game. We didn’t have the right passion or intensity the first half and when we did it was too late.”

The Huskies expanded their lead to 55-36 after three quarters, leading by as much as 24-points at one point. T.J. LEAF managed a few inside points in the fourth quarter, eventually finishing with 22-points and 16 rebounds on the night but the Knights’ defense continued to allow Centennial to answer basket after basket. And while Leaf (22-points) and Salgado (12-points) kept pace with Long Beach State bound Jordan Griffin (24-points) and future Bruin Jalen Hill (18-points), Foothills received just 18-points from the rest of its supporting cast.

The loss for Foothills Christian sets up what will now be the first of three meetings between the Knights and Army Navy. The Knights and Warriors will meet twice in Coastal League action after their third place game in the Under Armour Holiday Classic, which is slated for an 11:05 A.M. start Wednesday morning (Dec. 30) at Torrey Pines.

Foothills Christian: Scoring and stats not available.