BELLFLOWER – How are you going to respond in crunch time when it matters most?
That’s the question Orange Lutheran was presented with Friday night, on the road in front of a hostile crowd at St. John Bosco High.
After a back-and-forth third quarter, the stage was set for the Trinity League rivals to duke it out for one last round.
Lancers coach Chris Nordstrom can only hope the effort his team played with down the stretch is a sign of how it will play the remainder of the season.
Rogers Printup fueled a convincing fourth-quarter effort, scoring nine of his game-high 20 points in the final eight minutes, leading the second-ranked Lancers past the host Braves, 64-51, Friday night.
With the win, Orange Lutheran (17-3, 4-1) claimed sole possession of second place in league at the halfway point of the league schedule.
“I was really, really pleased, especially when it was getting tight,” Nordstrom said of his team’s effort. “We just kind of settled down, made the game a little simpler. I really thought that Rogers did a great job on Vance Jackson in the second half.”
Jackson, one of the country’s most sought-after junior recruits, looked to be on pace to reach his 20-point average as he finished the first half with 10 points.
Printup and Keisean Lucier-South took turns guarding the Braves’ gifted 6-foot-8 forward in the opening half, but they weren’t able to contribute much offensively.
Orange Lutheran junior forward Zac Jervis provided a spark off the bench, scoring 10 points in the first two quarters, allowing the Lancers to take a 29-26 lead into the break.
“I took it upon myself to make it challenging for him,” Printup said of guarding Jackson. “He’s one of the top players in the junior class and I wanted to do everything I could to stop him and make his life as hard as possible.”
While the Braves’ go-to player scored only one point in the third quarter, Orange Lutheran’s lead was still slim, 45-41, as the teams headed into the fourth.
Jackson’s three-point play to open the fourth cut the Lancers lead to 45-44 with an entire quarter to play.
It was the closest Bosco would get.
C.J. Hankins scored on the following possession, slashing to the basket for the lay-in. Printup went on to hit back-to-back 3-pointers on the ensuing possessions and Orange Lutheran’s 8-0 run opened the game up to 53-44 with five minutes to go.
Lucier-South scored 12 of his 16 points in the second half, while Hankins (12) and Jervis (10) also finished in double figures.
Jackson scored only five points in the second half for the Braves (12-7, 2-3) on 1-of-6 shooting from the field.
“I was happy with our effort,” Nordstrom said. “To get through the first half of league at 4-1 feels pretty good.”
The Lancers play their next league game Wednesday night at Servite.
Contact the writer: kconnolly@ocregister.com
