The Bishop Diego boys basketball team has doubled its win total from last season already.
Wednesday’s 69-63 decision over North County Christian in the Bishop Diego/Laguna Blanca Tournament put the Cardinals at 2-0 after finishing last season at 1-22.
“These kids are tough,” said coach Ray Vazquez. “When we scrimmage they’re hitting each other and there’s a lot of contact. That’s just the way they play.”
This year’s Cardinals are truly a bunch of what Dick Vitale calls “Diaper Dandies”, as freshmen and sophomores are currently getting the bulk of the minutes. While junior Hayden Slaught led the way with 20 points on Wednesday, freshmen accounted for 36.
The Cardinals’ big man, however, is a senior. Six-foot-4, 200-pound Connor MacGillivray made his presence felt in the paint with 13 rebounds to go along with 12 points. But Bishop Diego had trouble shutting the door against the Crusaders.
MacGillivray snatched an offensive rebound and put it in to give the hosts a commanding 52-33 lead with three minutes left in the third quarter, which shrunk slightly to 56-40 at the start of the final period. It stayed comfortable at 62-45 with just under five minutes to play, but the Crusaders put on a full-court press and caught fire, pulling to within six points of the Cardinals at 65-59 with less than a minute to play.
“Down the road we’ll be able to run the shot clock down and manage the game more. I think we’re going to get a lot better at that kind of stuff as the season continues,” said Vazquez.
Bishop hosts New Roads at 7 p.m Thursday.
BISHOP DIEGO 69, NORTH COUNTY CHRISTIAN 63
North County Christian…15 13 12 23 — 63
Bishop Diego………………15 24 17 13 — 69
BD—Slaught 20, Fling 4, Garcia 10, Kwock 6, MacGillivray 12, Schlesselman 1, Gonzalez 16. 25, 14-25, 69. NCC—Honeycut 7, Fink 1, Kahler 2, Chastain 8, Sheplay 18, Redel 14, Jespersen 6, Feld 7. 21, 15-34, 63.
