Sage has leg up with Joyce

Patrick Laverty

The Sage Hill School boys basketball team entered the final week of

Academy League play Tuesday on its last legs and with its leading

scorer playing on just one leg.

But the Lightning looked like a different team than the one that

had lost five straight games and eight of their last nine and senior

Kevin Joyce shook off the effects of a lingering thigh bruise to

score a game-high 28 points, leading Sage Hill to a much-needed 68-45

victory over Whitney.

The win keeps the Lightning (10-12, 2-7 in league) in the hunt for

a CIF Southern Section playoff berth. If Sage Hill can defeat Oxford

Academy on Thursday it will have the 11 wins necessary for an

at-large berth into the playoffs. In recent years, no team with 11

wins has been left out of the postseason.

“It’s the last game for me, so I’m going to go all out, even if I

have to play on one leg,” Joyce said.

After suffering a thigh bruise in Friday’s loss to Capistrano

Valley Christian, it appeared as though Joyce was playing on one leg

against Whitney. He limped on and off the court, adjusted his thigh

brace throughout the course of play, but showed no ill effects,

particularly on the offensive end, despite what he called

“excruciating pain.”

Joyce, who came into the game averaging better than 18 points per

contest, scored 20 points in the first half, including 14 in the

second quarter as Sage Hill took a 34-22 halftime lead.

“He told me before the game he was going to give it a try,” Sage

Hill Coach Steve Keith said. “In my mind, that told me he was going

to give it a go.

“Kevin’s just a great athlete. There’s a great athlete for the

Academy League and then there’s a great athlete. Kevin’s a cut above.

He could play anywhere.”

But he can’t win by himself and against Whitney, he got plenty of

help.

Jordan Ogron scored eight points, hitting two three-pointers, and

took a charge early in the third quarter that helped keep Whitney off

the scoreboard and maintain the Lightning’s halftime lead.

Stephen Hancock came off the bench to score six points and grab

seven rebounds. Included in those totals were a putback bucket of a

missed jumper by Joyce with two seconds remaining in the third

quarter that gave Sage Hill a 49-31 lead.

In the fourth quarter, Tyler Derheim scored five straight points,

on a putback and a three-point play, boosting the Lightning advantage

to 21 points.

“Kevin’s points and Matt [Loper’s] leadership at the point have

been constants,” Keith said. “The difference is when the other guys

can come up with some baskets.”

Loper, in addition to his fine ball-handling, finished with 11

points and eight rebounds. Joyce ended the game with 28 points, his

second-highest total of the season, and nine rebounds.

Eight of the nine Sage Hill players scored, including fan-favorite

Kevin Moyshayedi, and eight players grabbed at least one rebound as

Sage Hill posted its second-highest point total of the season.

“Tonight we finally clicked,” Joyce said. “Tonight we just kind of

played as a team.”

*--*

Academy League

Sage Hill 68, Whitney 45

Score by Quarters

Whitney 7 15 9 14 -- 45

Sage Hill 13 21 15 19 -- 68

Whitney -- Itchon 9, Ng 7, Yun 2, Yang 4, Lin

6, Lee 6, Tsai 11. 3-pt. goals -- Itchon 1,

Lee 2, Tsai 1. Fouled out -- None. Technicals

-- None. Sage Hill -- Ogron 8, Loper 11,

Joyce 28, Voge 2, Wilkins 4, Moyshayedi 2,

Hancock 6, Samel 0, Derheim 5. 3-pt. goals --

Ogron 2, Joyce 2. Fouled out -- None.

Technicals -- None.

*--*