The San Dimas boys basketball team hosted Los Altos on Friday, Jan 16, in their second home game and third league match-up for the season. Saints entered the contest with a 7-13 overall record while they search for their first league win at 0-2. Their opponent Los Altos sat at a 17-3 overall record and 2-0 record in league play. The Saints needed a grand team-effort in order to compete with the Conquerors. After losing both games to Los Altos last year, San Dimas had a chance to redeem themselves and rise to the occasion against a formidable league opponent.
San Dimas struck first when Senior Guard Andrew Diep opened the scoring with a three-pointer, but Los Altos quickly responded, jumping to an early 11-3 lead. After the timeout, James Sagamang found Angelo Fares on a backdoor cut to make it 5-15. The defensive energy from Diep helped San Dimas fight back as he took a charge to spark momentum both on the bench and the court. Angelo successfully attacked the paint to help San Dimas stay in the mix.
Diep remained active as their playmaker, assisting Adrian Alcaide on a three and later setting up Fares on a pick-and-pop trey. Fares continued to streak his points by adding another three, but suffered a knee injury at the buzzer. San Dims trailed 26-16 at the end of the first
During the second quarter. Diep controlled the tempo, he assisted Landen on a three-pointer, knocked down a mid range fade, and finished it off with a layup on the pick and roll, add Fares’s floater, and an insane half court pass to Dylan Jones for the and-one layup, and the saints were back in it. A cross-court assist to Keenan for a three highlighted the Saints’ ball movement, but they could not contain Los Altos as they lead 52-36 at half.
Diep knew that the only way to win was to score back, and that is what he did. Diep knocked down multiple three pointers including a deep shot from the logo. Despite their intense offensive surge, they did not have an answer for Los Altos.
During the fourth quarter, Michael Young-Bowers and Noah Walter showed immense defensive presence along with Dylan Jones’s collection of eight offensive rebounds. Despite their comeback, San Dimas was fighting the clock, and it was not enough to defeat Los Altos.
Andrew Diep finished with 19 points and 8 assists, leading the saints with his aggressive offensive approach. Angelo Fares added 15 points before exiting with injury, while Dylan Jones stood out in offensive rebounds.
Following the loss, Diep emphasized the importance of stronger starts moving forward. ” I felt I was being very aggressive with my approach on offense and I was able to capitalize on a lot of offensive opportunities,” Diep said. “My teammates helped a lot by keeping the pace up, making shots, and doing great things on the offensive end. I think our mental capability to lock in early on the defensive game plan will be the key in turning our performance in league around. We’ve had rough starts that dig us into holes we can’t climb out of.”
San Dimas (7-14) and (0-3) will look to bounce back next week when they play their last opponent in the first round of league in Colony High school.
