Patriots rout Eagles in first round

HESPERIA • It took the Hesperia Christian Patriots 3 minutes and 45 seconds to score their first basket.

But once they scored, they capitalized on a weaker opponent to blow out Desert Chapel 57-31 in a CIF-Southern Section Division VI-AA playoff game Wednesday night at home.

Senior point guard Jordan Vargas scored a game-high 21 points to lead the Patriots.

“I’ve had my share of this kind of performance this year.” Vargas said. “But this year, more so than ever, I’ve enjoyed dishing off the ball.”
Vargas opened the Hesperia Christian (20-5) scoring by completing a 3-point play, a lay-up followed by a successful free throw.

“This year has been the greatest year we’ve had since I’ve been here,” Vargas said. “Mainly because we’ve unified as a team and we’re all playing for each other and giving us wins almost every night.”

The Eagles (10-12) captured their only lead of the game in the first minute on a lay-up by Sam Updike. Both teams went cold until Hesperia Christian took a 3-2 lead. The Patriots never fell behind or tied the rest of the game.

The Patriots found themselves in unfamiliar territory as they led just 22-11 at halftime.

“Normally when we would hold a team to 11 points in a half, I’d be happy,” Hesperia Christian coach Scott Dobyns said. “But when we only have 22 points, its frustrating. We were getting to the rim, but we were just missing easy shots.”

The Patriots outscored the Eagles 35-20 in the second half as both teams settled into good routines. Desert Chapel managed to outscore Hesperia Christian in the third quarter by two.

The Patriots were in complete control for the last 8 minutes as they had their best quarter, scoring 24 points and limiting the Eagles to just seven.

“I’m glad to get the first-round win and get that monkey off our back,” Dobyns said. “I’m proud of how the kids responded when (Desert Chapel) made a little run. We just worked harder at defensive pressure, got some easy (points), and that opened up our offense.”

Two other Patriots notched double figures in scoring with Jacob Arreola’s 11 and Seth Thomas’ 10. Vargas made three 3-pointers. Dobyns removed Vargas with 1:41 left in the game.

DESERT CHAPEL (31)
Updike 8, Hart 8, Nickell 6, Marshall 4, Young 3, Gerada 2.
HESPERIA CHRISTIAN (57)
Vargas 21, Arreola 11, Thomas 10, Ford 7, O’Brien 4, Barton 2, Gage 2.

D. Chapel    4    7    13    7    —    31
H. Christian    9    13    11    24    —    57

3-point field goals — Desert Chapel 2 (Updike, Young), Hesperia Christian 4 (Vargas 3, Arreola).