Agassi Prep boys spread wealth, keep Mountain View guessing

Agassi Prep’s boys basketball team still needs improvement on the offensive end as it prepares to defend its Class 2A state title.

But there’s one thing the Stars couldn’t be doing much better: keeping opponents guessing.

Kalinn Jackson had 17 points to lead five scorers in double figures and help Agassi Prep roll to a 70-52 home victory over Mountain View on Saturday in the Class 2A Southern League.

“That’s our recipe for success, when we have four or five guys scoring. No team can just key in on one guy,” Stars coach Wendell West said. “So that’s our recipe, and we’ve been preaching that all year. It’s been working for us, so we’re going to stick with that.”

Anson Williams had 15 points and eight rebounds for Agassi Prep (17-4, 9-1), and Terrell Kemp scored 11. DeCari Lide supplied 10 points and seven rebounds, and Demetrius White also scored 10.

“We have a lot of options,” said Jackson, who dished out five assists. “I think if everybody gets in sync, we’re all going to jell better and play better as a team.”

Jackson scored eight points as part of a 21-12 second-quarter surge that enabled Agassi Prep to pull away. Kemp hit a buzzer-beating 3-pointer from the left wing to send the Stars to the locker room with a 40-24 halftime lead.

“When he hit that 3, it boosted (the lead) to 16, and it gave us momentum going to the third quarter,” West said.

Trevor Van Kempen scored 14 points for Mountain View (6-16, 2-8), and Matt Larson had seven points and seven rebounds. T.J. Kissinger and Joseph Gueverra scored eight each for Mountain View, which starts only one senior.

Agassi Prep, which starts five seniors, has won three straight since suffering an upset 88-82 overtime loss at The Meadows on Jan. 21.

“They’re starting to get it together at the right time,” West said. “I think that Meadows game was a good game for us, a wake-up call. We had gotten very relaxed just winning a few games. That was a wake-up call, and I think it got their focus back, and we’re ready to go for our second (state) title.”

Though pleased to get the win, West found one statistic for the Stars he was especially unhappy with: 12-for-27 at the free-throw line.

“We’re going to spend a lot of time on free throws, I’ll tell you that,” West said.