damien

Coaching high school basketball since the 1979-80 season and being the second-winningest coach in state history with 1,127 victories, Mike LeDuc is one of those old-school coaches who likes to push his players forward and fade into the background when team success comes.

This season at Damien, LeDuc can take a bow for guiding the Spartans to the state Division I championship with little size but a group of players who loved to shoot threes, never stopped hustling on defense and executed close to perfection on the biggest stage at Golden 1 Center and during his team’s playoff run.

For turning a group of players he fondly called “overachievers” into champions, LeDuc is The Times’ boys’ basketball coach of the year.

Through his many years of coaching at Damien and previously at Glendora, he’s mentored such outstanding players as Tracy Murray, Casey Jacobsen and Cameron Murray. Now Cameron’s sophomore son, CJ, plays for Damien. It’s a full circle moment for LeDuc, who was holding his granddaughter at the awards ceremony in Sacramento.

As the years go by and the game keeps changing, LeDuc continues to adapt, adjust and power on.

LeDuc‘s answer is, “Basketball is a real simple game. It’s a game of repetition and if you do it over and over, you expect it to be done perfectly.”

SACRAMENTO — If anyone knows how to help shooters feel comfortable when things aren’t going well, it’s Damien coach Mike LeDuc, who produced two of the Southern Section’s best scorers in Tracy Murray and Casey Jacobsen during his Glendora days.

So when Zaire Rasshan was only two of nine from three-point range at halftime on Friday night in the state Division I championship game, the message and mentality was keep shooting.

“I told him to start making them,” LeDuc said.

“I knew they were going to fall,” Rasshan.

He made a three to start the third quarter, launching a 10-0 surge that Folsom never recovered from. Damien came away with a 58-55 victory at Golden 1 Center, becoming the fifth straight team from the Southern Section Open Division to drop down to Division I and come away as state champion.

Rasshan finished with 18 points, including five threes. His three with 1:05 left moved Damien to an eight-point lead. Elijah Smith had 18 points and four assists. Eli Garner scored 15 points and had 13 rebounds. The only other player to score for Damien was Cameron Murray with seven points. He’s the nephew of Tracy Murray.

Throughout the fourth quarter, the Spartans (32-7) kept finding open players with near-perfect execution on offense.

“Their level of execution was on another level from anyone we’ve played,” Folsom coach Mike Wall said.

Joven Dulay and Parks Weaver each scored 16 points for Folsom, which fell behind 57-47 with 39 seconds left after two Smith free throws. Damien outrebounded Folsom 32-21 and had an 11-2 edge in offensive rebounds and took 30 threes to Folsom’s 18.

LeDuc, who has been coaching since 1979-80, said of the Spartans, “I really do believe this team, more than any other team I’ve coached, has been overachieving.”

The Spartans lacked height this season but got all five players on the court to rebound as a group, helping overcome any disadvantages. And Smith, as the point guard, rose up in the postseason.

“This run we’ve had, this guy has been ridiculously incredible,” LeDuc said of Smith.

As for the execution in the fourth quarter, LeDuc said, “We run a lot of plays. Basketball is a real simple game. It’s a game of repetition and if you do it over and over, you expect it to be done perfectly.”

CIF STATE BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIPS

At Golden 1 Center, Sacramento

FRIDAY’S RESULTS

Boys

DIVISION I

Damien 58, Folsom 55

DIVISION III

Antioch Cornerstone Christian 74, Birmingham 64

DIVISION V

San Marin 89, Sylmar 64

Girls

DIVISION I

Corona Centennial 73, Clovis 66

DIVISION III

Placentia El Dorado 42, San Jose Valley Christian 40

DIVISION V

Woodland Christian 63, Laguna Hills 30

SATURDAY’S SCHEDULE

Boys

OPEN DIVISION

Sierra Canyon (29-1) vs. Richmond Salesian (29-3), 8 p.m.

DIVISION II

Bakersfield Christian (24-11) vs. San Joaquin Memorial (27-7), 4 p.m.

DIVISION IV

San Juan Hills (21-14) vs. Atherton Sacred Heart Prep (20-11), 12 p.m.

Girls

OPEN DIVISION

Ontario Christian (33-2) vs. Archbishop Mitty (28-2), 6 p.m.

DIVISION II

Santa Maria St. Joseph (17-15) vs. Sierra Pacific (24-11), 2 p.m.

DIVISION IV

Palisades (16-13) vs. Yuba City Faith Christian (33-1), 10 a.m.

CIF STATE BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIPS

At Golden 1 Center, Sacramento

FRIDAY’S SCHEDULE

Boys

DIVISION I

Damien (31-7) vs. Folsom (29-6), 8 p.m.

DIVISION III

Birmingham (22-7) vs. Antioch Cornerstone Christian (28-8), 4 p.m.

DIVISION V

Sylmar (24-12) vs. San Marin (21-13), 12 p.m.

Girls

DIVISION I

Corona Centennial (23-5) vs. Clovis (26-10), 6 p.m.

DIVISION III

Placentia El Dorado (22-14) vs. San Jose Valley Christian (16-15), 2 p.m.

DIVISION V

Laguna Hills (21-11) vs. Woodland Christian (32-3), 10 a.m.

SATURDAY’S SCHEDULE

Boys

OPEN DIVISION

Sierra Canyon (29-1) vs. Richmond Salesian (29-3), 8 p.m.

DIVISION II

Bakersfield Christian (24-11) vs. San Joaquin Memorial (27-7), 4 p.m.

DIVISION IV

San Juan Hills (21-14) vs. Atherton Sacred Heart Prep (20-11), 12 p.m.

Girls

OPEN DIVISION

Ontario Christian (33-2) vs. Archbishop Mitty (28-2), 6 p.m.

DIVISION II

Santa Maria St. Joseph (17-15) vs. Sierra Pacific (24-11), 2 p.m.

DIVISION IV

Palisades (16-13) vs. Yuba City Faith Christian (33-1) 10 a.m.

The ending was not what Jason Crowe Jr. wanted, but he got a hug from his mother and praise from his coach/father after Inglewood’s 84-65 loss to Damien on Tuesday night in the Southern California Division I regional playoff game.

He finished with 34 points, ending his high school career with a state-record 4,718 points in 124 games, according to CalHiSports.com. He’s more than 1,000 points ahead of the next closest player. His scoring average was 38.0 points.

“I think he’s had an amazing high school career,” said his father, Jason Sr., who will join his son at Missouri next season serving as an assistant coach. “He had to go against the best defenses every night. I’m proud of him. He brought this program to the Division I level. He was on honor roll every year.”

Damien (28-7) had too much firepower for Inglewood (28-7). Eli Garner scored 25 points and Zaire Rasshan had 24 points. Garner had a five-point play and Rasshan added a four-point play. Damien will play at No. 3-seeded Crespi on Thursday. Crespi defeated Bishop Amat 83-66. Isaiah Barnes scored 20 points. Sophomore Aiden Shaw had 25 points for Bishop Amat.

Jason Crowe Jr. of Inglewood launches three against Damien. He finished with 34 points in loss.

(Nick Koza)

“Incredible career,” Damien coach Mike LeDuc said of Crowe Jr.

Damien fans get excited in state playoff game.

(Nick Koza)

Mater Dei 86, La Mirada 79: The Monarchs came back from a 12-point halftime deficit to eliminate No. 1-seeded La Mirada on the road in Division I.

St. John Bosco 65, San Marcos 55: Christian Collins scored 30 points and Max Ellis 19 for the Braves.

Venice 61, Riverside Ramona 50: Canaan Rodriguez scored 18 points for Venice in Division IV.

Girls basketball

Oak Park 72, La Jolla Country Day 57: Karisma Flores scored 27 points, including seven of seven from the three-point line, to lead Oak Park.