Joshua Springs vs HCS Stats 2-3-06

Hesperia Christian clinched the Agape League championship this evening in Yucca Valley, beating Joshua Springs 62-51. Billy Hague led all scorers with 20 points. He also had 7 steals to go along with 6 rebounds. The Patriots played solidly in the second and third quarter but abysmally in the fourth quarter, almost allowing Joshua Springs to get back into the game.

It was a real battle between the Lightning and the Patriots to see which team could amass the most turnovers. In the end Joshua Springs just edged out HCS getting 31 turnovers to HCS' 30. HCS had to play without its senior inside star Mike Petersen who was injured and did show that they could win without him and still get 33 rebounds while holding Joshua Springs to 24 rebounds. But the Patriot defense was somewhat lacking tonight as Jesse Frazer, Kyle McClay and Joe Virga all scored in double figures. Thomas Higgins was held to 4 points though.

Jordan Vargas had another good game scoring 10 points and getting 4 rebounds and 7 assists (half of the Patriot total). Zach Howard got 10 points and 5 rebounds. He shot five for six from the field.

But the three things that marred tonight's game were the turnover to assist ratio with 30 turnovers to 14 assists, 60% FT shooting and a lack of focus in the fourth quarter. Playing a better team than Joshua Springs and HCS would have lost. If a Patriot got under 3 turnovers, it meant little playing time. HCS seemed to hurry their passes, not showing any patience at all. Free throws is an old story for this team. Only four on this team can even shoot 70%. It may well be the worst free throw shooting team in modern HCS history. But the biggest issue was the Patriots lack of focus and concentration in the fourth quarter. The final score does not indicate just how close Joshua Springs came to an upset. With 52 seconds left, the score was 56-51 with the Lightning making a charge. Howard and Hague, as senior captains, have to take charge and keep the game under control. And they did not tonight.

But as they say, good teams figure out how to win on bad nights. And HCS did win and in conjunction with the Bethel Christian win over Apple Valley Christian, clinched the Agape championship for a second straight year outright. And HCS remains undefeated against Division V teams this season.

The Lightning has three big scorers in Thomas Higgins with a 13 PPG, Mike Ray with a 11 PPG and Joe Virga with a 10 PPG. They are a strong rebounding team (37 RPG) with Ray and Kyle McClay getting 8 rebounds a game. They like to dominate the defensive boards. They can be foul prone as each starter gets about three fouls per game. (Hint to HCS free throw shooters!) Joshua Springs is scoring about 52 points per game right now. But they also have allowed opponents to score 55 PPG.

HCS will have a good test of their ability to rebound against a strong rebounding team. Mike Petersen will not be able to do it alone and will need help from Jonny Barton, Mike Maerzluft and Jordan Martinson. This especially true on our offensive boards. Joshua Springs likes to see opponents only get one shot each time down. HCS will have to make free throws this game in order to win. And HCS will need to play defense as they did in the fourth quarter in the first Bethel Christian game. HCS is now averaging about 59 points per game. The Patriots should be about a three point favorite in this game.