FONTANA >> The La Quinta boys basketball team continues to defy the odds by collecting road wins in the CIF State playoffs, even with little to no cheering section.
The Aztecs, who finished second in the Garden Grove League, are one win away from going to the CIF State Championships after defeating Fontana 66-59 in the CIF Southern California Division V regional semifinals Saturday night at Fontana High.
“My guys are just tough right now, they’re fighting, they don’t want to stop. This has been fun,” La Quinta coach Mark Sanchez said of his team’s postseason run.
FINAL
La Quinta 66, Fontana 59
The Aztecs advance to the SoCal Regional Final!! @ocvarsity @TheRealLQHS @ggusdathletics pic.twitter.com/p50FCkgmml
— David Delgado (@DavidDelgado_OC) March 6, 2022
No. 12 seed La Quinta will be at No. 6 seed Chaffey in the regional final Tuesday night with a chance to advance to the state final in Sacramento on March 11.
La Quinta (22-11), which qualified for the regional playoffs by reaching the CIF-Southern Section semifinals, was led Saturday by the senior backcourt duo of Viggo Nguyen and Shuaib Tahir, who combined for 44 points and hit eight 3-pointers.
Nguyen had a game-high 24 points with four 3s and Tahir scored 20 points with his four 3s, all coming in the third quarter.
It also didn’t hurt that Sanchez’s plan to limit Fontana’s top player, Joshua Okolugbo, by double-teaming him in the post, was quite effective. Okolugbo finished with a team-high 20 points, but he had only five points in the second half.
La Quinta turned a 30-26 halftime lead into a 16-point advantage heading into the fourth quarter thanks to Tahir’s accuracy from the 3-point line.
La Quinta has advanced to the Division V SoCal Regional Final after beating Fontana 66-59. Viggo Nguyen (24 pts) and Shuaib Tahir (20 pts) led the way for the Aztecs who face Chaffey on Tuesday. @ocvarsity @ggusdathletics @TheRealLQHS pic.twitter.com/7htFXTGj7p
— David Delgado (@DavidDelgado_OC) March 6, 2022
“The last few games it’s just been fire away, and he’s doing it,” Sanchez said of Tahir. “If he’s not playing well, Viggo (Nguyen) can’t carry us, especially right now. Playing in these games, it’s gotta be both of them playing well.”
“Shuaib is usually a second-half guy, Viggo is our first-half guy. They start looking at him (Nguyen) and then Shuaib starts hitting,” Sanchez added.
Viggo Nguyen opened the third by hitting a 3, Jack Nguyen scored a bucket and then Tahir’s shot from beyond the arc caused Fontana to use a timeout with 5:46 left in the quarter with the Aztecs up 38-28.
At one point in the third, Tahir and Viggo Nguyen traded off converting 3-point shots on three straight possessions, which gave La Quinta an 18-point lead, 49-31.
Fontana’s Jesus Avalos scored 15 of his 18 points in the fourth, and Sergio Avalos had 17 points.
Okolugbo, the Skyline League MVP, was challenged by Caleb Egberts (four points, 10 rebounds) and Jack Nguyen (12 points) on every possession in the paint.
“Every time they caught it, we were there, either harassing them or stealing it before it got there. That was a big deal,” Sanchez said of the Aztecs’ post defense.
The Steelers came into the game on a seven-game postseason winning streak that included a CIF-SS championship in Division 5A, their first CIF title since 1995.
La Quinta boys basketball coach Mark Sanchez said his team is enjoying the additional challenge of being the road team in each of its games in the Southern California Regional playoffs. (Photo by David Delgado, Contributor)
Fontana (27-6) started to chip away as Jesus Avalos began to heat up from long range, knocking down 3-point shots in a variety of ways. The Steelers’ 20-point deficit was soon down to just six points with under a minute left to play, but Viggo Nguyen knocked down a pair of free throws and Lamson Nguyen made one of two from the stripe and the Aztecs held on.
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“We’re starting to calculate how many miles we’ve gone (for games), it’s close to 1,000. We’re going to be 1,000 now, but we kinda like this,” Sanchez said. “We go to the other (team’s) home, their fans are cheering. We have a couple (of fans), last time we only had one or two, but this is driving us. I’m OK with going on the road, I’m good with it.”