Posted on 21 February 2014 by La Habra Journal
David Desatoff scored 12 of his game-high 24 points in the third quarter as the Highlanders held on to upset Woodbridge 74-69, Friday night on the road in the first round of the CIF-SS Division 2AA playoffs.
by Jeremiah Girard
La Habra Journal
IRVINE – The La Habra boys basketball team shook up the CIF-SS Division 2AA bracket with a first-round upset victory over Woodbridge, 74-69, Friday at Woodbridge High.
Though many people consider the win and upset, La Habra head coach Dave Ploog did not see it that way.
“I actually think that our style matches up with a lot of the teams in the bracket,” Ploog said. “I think we have a good shot to make a pretty good run here.”
La Habra came out with a lot of intensity and jumped out to an 18-12 lead. They took that lead into the second quarter.
Woodbridge opened up in the second quarter and won the quarter 18-17, but La Habra took a 35-30 lead into the half.
The Highlanders (15-11) were looking for someone to step up in the third quarter and help break open the game. David Desatoff rose to the challenge and did just that.
In the third quarter alone, he had 12 of his 24 points. He also made two of his three 3-pointers in the quarter.
“My teammates started getting me the ball and it seemed like they gave me a little bit more space,” Desatoff said. “It is just what I do. Hopefully the shots keep falling in the next couple rounds.”
The Highlanders took a commanding 57-42 lead into the fourth quarter, but Woodbridge (19-9) would not go down without a fight and went to a relentless full-court press defense that wreaked havoc on the Highlanders, causing multiple turnovers and easy buckets.
“At the half, we talked about that defense and knew that they were going to play it,” Ploog said. “Then, they went to it and the gym got super loud and we were not executing.”
The Warriors battled back and cut the deficit to 70-69 with 35.1 seconds left. Desatoff went to the line and knocked down two free throws to expand the lead to 72-69.
Woodbridge’s Michael Scarlett had 11 of his 22 points in the fourth quarter alone. The ball ended up in his hands at the end of the game, but he missed a contested three pointer from the corner. Adam Cooley picked up the rebound and got fouled.
“Adam was huge for us,” Ploog said. “We put him in the middle and ran the ball through him when they picked up that pressure and he made some big plays.”
Cooley went to the line and drained two free throws to ice the game. He had 18 points on the game.
“I thought that I could have done better with some of the situations at the end,” Cooley said. “It is something that I will work on in practice before our next game.”
It does not get any easier from here as the Highlanders will next take on Canyon High of Canyon Country on the road in the second round.
