Posted on 30 January 2014 by La Habra Journal
Highlanders guard David Desatoff takes a shot over Buena Park’s Zarvontay David during the first half of La Habra’s 64-49 home win, Wednesday night. Desatoff led La Habra with 26 points. Photos by Jay Seidel, La Habra Journal
by Sarah Fenton
La Habra Journal
The La Habra boys’ basketball team defeated Buena Park, 64-49, at home on Wednesday.
“We worked hard on offense,” said David Ploog, La Habra head coach. “Against Sonora we didn’t score a lot so we did a lot of shooting and did a few plays and I think that helped us out.”
The Highlanders (13-8, 2-3) came out strong on defense against Buena Park and held the Coyotes to 6 points. La Habra led 15-6 going into the second quarter.
La Habra pushed the ball on offense in the second quarter and scored 25 points against Buena Park (8-14, 0-5).
David Desatoff got a defensive rebound early in the quarter and passed the ball down the court to Adam Cooley, who finished the play with a shot under the basket.
The Highlanders led 40-27 going into halftime.
“We wanted to make sure that we stayed in front and make them shoot jump shots because they were able to get a lot of layups,” Ploog said. “We knew if we took away their layups and made them take jump shots, we had a good chance. We talked a lot about defense, forcing harder shots.”
La Habra kept the pressure on Buena Park in the third quarter both on offense and defense.
Defensively, Buena Park focused on shutting down Desatoff in the second half after he scored 26 points in the first half.
Adam Cooley puts in a reverse layup over Buena Park’s Joe Galvan during the first half of La Habra’s 64-49 home win, Wednesday night. Cooley scored 20 points.
The Coyotes tried to penetrate the gaps on offense, but the Highlanders’ defense kept them from scoring. La Habra led, 50-38, going into the final quarter.
La Habra tightened up on defense in the fourth quarter, making it hard for Buena Park to make its shots.
David Desatoff led the team in scoring with five three-pointers and a total of 26 points, all of which were scored in the first half. Adam Cooley followed with 20 points.
“I was ready to shoot, I thought it was going to go in, and it went in,” Desatoff sad. “I wanted to get my other teammates open and pass the ball to our open guys.”
La Habra’s next game will be against Fullerton at home on Friday at 7:30 p.m.
“They’re a very aggressive team,” Ploog said. “We have to beat that aggressiveness and practice a lot in dealing with aggressive defenses so that we’re prepared for pressure and we’ll work on our offense again to counter that pressure, work on our screening, and work on our offensive press.”
La Habra’s Amanda Cuervo works with the basketball against Buena Park’s Lorena Chavez during the fourth quarter of La Habra’s 62-19 home win, Wednesday night.
GIRLS VARSITY
The La Habra girls’ basketball team annihilated Buena Park High School, 62-19, at home on Wednesday.
The Highlanders (11-9, 4-1) moved the ball well in the first quarter allowing Emma Zener to sink a 3-pointer less than thirty seconds into the game.
“Coming off a win on Friday, it was a big win for us and I tried to keep them focused for this game,” said Jim Bohn, La Habra head coach. “I think we came out a little flat in the beginning of the game, but after a few words of wisdom they decided to step up and start playing.”
La Habra played strong on defense, which forced multiple turnovers by the Coyotes (4-8, 0-3).
Megan Chancellor stole the ball early in the first quarter and drove the ball down the court for a layup. La Habra led 12-7 going into the second quarter.
The Highlanders pushed the ball on offense in the second quarter and scored 32 points, advancing the score to 44-18 going into halftime.
“I wanted them to continue to work on their offense,” Bohn said. “I told them that we want to control our opportunity on offense also. We have to practice for other games that are coming up too and what it allowed us to do was to run some of that half court offense that we need. The main thing is to stay focused and keep that intensity so we could have a bigger lead, which allows everyone else to get involved in the game.”
La Habra came out strong on defense in the third quarter and shut down the Coyote’s offense, preventing them from scoring. La Habra led Buena Park, 58-18, going into the final quarter.
Both teams continued to fight in the fourth quarter, but La Habra didn’t let down its guard on defense and held the Coyotes to only one point.
The Highlanders controlled their turnovers in the game, allowing them to be more aggressive on offense.
“That’s one of the things we’ve been working on,” Bohn said. “At practice yesterday, all of it was just on press break and it paid off tonight. We still have a few areas we need to tweak. We have to get ready for Fullerton on Friday, which will be another good game. We’re at home so we’re happy with decreasing some of those turnovers.”
Freshman Emma Zener led the team in scoring with four 3-pointers and a total of 17 points, all of which were scored in the first half. Megan Chancellor followed with 14 points.
“It’s more of like a relief because I feel like I’ve been trying to prove myself as a freshman on varsity,” Zener said. “I’m just really relieved that I actually made those shots and it feels really great.”
La Habra’s next game will be against Fullerton at home on Friday at 6 p.m.
“We’re going to prepare in a few ways,” Bohn said. “We have to work to make sure again that we control turnovers. In the first game against Fullerton, the ball and the point scoring were spread very well. That’s what we have to do and get everybody involved. It’s the second half of the league and, like I told them, the first half is over and we have to prove ourselves in the second. I’m sure Fullerton will come in ready to play and we have to be ready too.”
