Carpinteria’s Omar Miranda shoots over Bishop Diego’s Leo Schneider on Monday in front of a big crowd at the Brickhouse.
Johnny Ward won many games as a player at Bishop Diego. But it wasn’t until Monday night that Ward experienced victory in the Brickhouse as a coach.
Ward’s rival Carpinteria Warriors beat Bishop Diego for the first time since February, 2010 in a 66-57 non-league decision.
“It feels pretty good to come into the old stomping grounds and come out with (a victory),” Ward said.
The Warriors won with an up-tempo brand of basketball, led by the guard play from Omar Miranda and Rayshaun Moore. The pair combined for 37 points, including a game-high 21 from Moore. Ian Craddock added 17.
“If everybody plays with nothing to lose, plays their hardest, plays like its their last game, we can do a lot,” said Ward. “We executed better tonight, we shared the ball. We played a great team game.”
Miranda helped seal the game for the Warriors, scoring 11 of his 16 points in the final quarter. Miranda totaled 16 points, six assists, six rebounds and four steals.
The Cardinals (14-6, 4-1) had already beaten Carpinteria three times previously this season, twice by double digits.
“They played like they wanted it more than we did,” said Cardinals head coach Dean Prophet.
Bishop Diego was led in scoring by Peter Kwock’s 16 points. Grant Sexton (12), Thomas Lash (10) and Nick Busch (10) also scored in double figures.
Bishop Diego, which trailed 31-28 at halftime, took the lead in the fourth quarter when Nick Busch drained a 3-pointer. The Cardinals’ lead of 49-47 didn’t last long as Moore answered with his fourth 3-pointer of the game to put the Warriors back out front.
Carpinteria led 54-49 with three minutes to go and made its free throws down the stretch to extend the final difference. The Warriors converted 12-of-16 foul shots as a team in the final quarter.
Moore, who knocked down four 3-pointers, noted his team’s performance on the defensive end.
“We took them away from their game a little bit,” Moore said. “We played help defense better than we normally do, and we basically picked up our defense to keep them out of their game.”
Both teams return to league play on Wednesday. The Warriors host Fillmore in a Frontier League game while Bishop Diego travels to Santa Clara.
CARPINTERIA 66, BISHOP DIEGO 57
C 13 18 14 21 – 66
BD 14 14 12 17 – 57Carpinteria – Moore 21, Miranda 16, Reed 2, Craddock 17, Gordon 5, Picerni 5.
Bishop Diego – Bennett 3, Kwock 16, Sexton 12, W. Busch 2, Lash 10, N. Busch 10, Schneider 4.
