Agassi Prep happily beholds ugly victory

Championship basketball teams find a way to win ugly, close games. So much was true for Agassi Prep’s boys basketball team Saturday against division rival The Meadows.

The Stars, the defending state champions, overcame a plethora of miscues, but benefited from timely shooting and stingy defense to upend the visiting Mustangs 61-51 in a game between Division III powers.

“You’ve got to win games like that,” Stars coach Trevor Diggs said. “There are going to be some games where the ball doesn’t go into the hole, or you don’t get some calls that you think you’re going to get. You’ve just got to keep fighting through it. That’s what we preach.

“It was a bad all-around game offensively by both teams, especially us. We missed 22 free throws (going 12-for-34).”

Agassi Prep (11-0, 6-0 Division III Southern) shot 21-for-59 (35.6 percent) from the field, including 5 of 20 on 3-pointers, and committed 17 turnovers.

But the Stars outrebounded The Meadows 40-30 and cause fits with their full-court defense and 2-3 zone. The Meadows committed 15 turnovers and shot 16 of 44 (36.4 percent) from the field. They were 0-for-15 from the 3-point line.

“We can win ugly,” Diggs said. “I don’t think they gave us their best game, either. They shot the ball pretty bad, and their big guy (Max Hisatake) got in early foul trouble. Our defense is what gets us to where we’re at. That’s our game. We always pride ourselves on being a defensive team first, and rebounding.”

Agassi Prep’s Deishuan Booker finished with 23 points, six rebounds, five assists and four steals. Darius Coaxum had 13 points and six rebounds, and Dennis Walker added eight points, 13 rebounds and three blocked shots for the Stars.

But it was the play of 5-foot-5-inch freshman Akeemis Williams, who hit three momentum-shifting 3-pointers in the second half, that sealed the win.

The Meadows, which trailed 25-19 at halftime, pulled within 54-49 with 2:39 to play before Williams ended the run with a 3-pointer from the wing.

After leading 16-15 in the second quarter, the closest the Mustangs (9-4, 5-1) got was 39-36 with 7:25 remaining.

“I did like some of my young fellas today,” Diggs said. “Williams came in, a freshman, and made timely shots. This was huge for his confidence. The kid is going to be good.”

The Meadows’ Ethan Fridman finished with 23 points, 17 in the second half. Hisatake had eight points and 13 rebounds, and Jake Epstein added 13 points and six rebounds.

Contact reporter Ashton Ferguson at aferguson@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0430. Follow him on Twitter: @af_ferguson.