Every game this season, the California High basketball team has had a different player step up for it.
Against visiting Whittier, junior guard Jeremy Nila was the one who led the first-place Condors (10-10, 4-0) to victory.
Nila scored a game-high 19 points and added eight rebounds to help Cal defeat the Cardinals 56-49 on Friday night in a Del Rio League victory.
“Jeremy is one of our returning players and every night it’s somebody different,” Cal coach Joel Simonds said. “Jeremy had the hot hand down the stretch tonight. Somebody had it last time, somebody had it last Friday so that’s the sign of a good team. With our team, it’s hard to scout them because every night it was somebody different.”
From the start of the second half, it was pretty clear who had the hot hand. Nila opened the third quarter with the period’s first six points in the first two minutes. While he helped jumpstart Cal’s offense in the second half, his biggest play of the game came on defense down the stretch. With 1:59 remaining and the Condors up 51-44, Whittier’s Jeremy Ojeda had a point-blank shot for a putback. However, Nila stepped in front and swatted Ojeda’s shot away, silencing the Cardinal faithful.
Then, with 34 seconds remaining, Nila hit a pair of critical free throws, which put Cal up 54-47. Following a quick basket from Whittier starting point guard Daniel Villegas, Nila ultimately helped ice the game for the Condors with a nice pass to his brother, Josh, who made an easy basket to put Cal back up by seven.
Although Jeremy had arguably the biggest performance for the Condors, Simonds thinks that the shooting guard would never brag about his contributions against the Cardinals (9-12, 1-3).
“The best thing about Jeremy is that he doesn’t care if he got the credit,” Simonds said. “The whole team is about playing together, playing for each other. It’s all about not caring who got that credit. And, I know he feels good about making shots but it’s about ‘Hey, we’re 4-0’ right now.”
Considering that Cal had lost its previous 20 Del Rio League games prior to the beginning of this season, the Condors are certainly riding some momentum through the early stages of DRL play.
Ojeda finished with a team-high 16 points for Whittier.
— Will Hernandez
Mountain View 65, Gabrielino 58
One of the best backcourts in the San Gabriel Valley had another big night with Edgar Hernadez dropping 32 points and Emilio Alvarez scoring 20 to help the Vikings (12-11, 7-0) remain undefeated in the Mission Valley League.
Walnut 57, Diamond Ranch 55
Dane Johannsen scored a game-high 13 points and Agassi Goantara had 12 points and five rebounds for the Mustangs (15-5, 2-2) in the Hacienda League. Eric Lu added 10 points for the Mustangs.
Mark Keppel 77, Alhambra: 27
The Aztecs had five finish in double figures and registered 36 team steals.
Vanessa Aguirre registered her third consecutive double-double with 11 points and 10 steals. Sally Smith had 11 points seven rebounds and four steals. Patricia Chung had 11 points and seven steals.
South Hills 46, Diamond Bar 30
The Huskies (10-10, 1-3) earned their first win in the Palomares League behind another big game from Isabella Lamonea, who finished with 21 points and five steals. Alexis Lujan added 10 points with seven rebounds and Kristina Hiraishi and Camille Dahmen had four points apiece.
Glendora 58, Bonita 32
Makayla Tilton scored 15 points, Jorday Holmes scored 12 and Alexis Lowden had 11 for the Tartans (21-0, 4-0) in the Palomares League.
Gabrielino 62, Mountain View 24
Amanda Lee had 21 points, six assists and six steals for the Vikings (13-6, 6-0) in Mission League play.
Whittier 39, Cal 31
The Cardinals (13-8, 4-0) remained undefeated in Del Rio League play. Junior Alejah Navarro scored a team-high 16 points for the Condors (10-10, 1-3)
Village Christian 51, Whittier Christian 46
The Heralds (17-4, 3-1) suffered their first Olympic League defeat of the season, despite Clairessa Watkins scoring 15 points, going 7 for 10 from the field, and 14 points from sophomore Joleen Corona.
La Salle 7, St. Paul 0
The Lancers’ Corbin Jones finished with three goals with an assist. Nick Zuniga, Vincent Zuniga, Eric Rivero and Sam Poon also scored for the Lancers (10-5-1, 5-0 Camino Real League).
Whittier Christian 4, Village Christian 1
Junior middlefielder Caleb Fulbright led the Heralds (4-13, 2-2) to victory with a hat trick in an Olympic League victory.
San Marino 2, Monrovia 0
Kenzie Tokuchi and Halle Pedroza both scored for the Titans (9-2-2, 3-0) in the Rio Hondo League.
South Pasadena 3, La Canada 0
Lorraine Tilley scored in the first half and Elizabeth Haider and Harper Fox added second-half goals for the Tigers (3-1) in the Rio Hondo League.