Crystal boys’ basketball off to best start in program history

With the win, Crystal improves to 8-2, marking the best start in a 10-game stretch in program history.

“We’re really excited because we feel like this is our best team in years,” Crystal junior Remy Tyler said. “We’ll have a chance to compete, and do well in league too, and in the playoffs. We’re looking forward to it.”

Prior to the delay Friday, Crystal opened with fluid passing and sharp 3-point shooting, starting the game on a 16-2 run. It was a tall order, considering three of the Gryphons’ regular starters were out of action due to holiday travels. The revamped lineup seized on a glut of early Oceana turnovers, and hit 6 of 8 shots from 3-point range in the first quarter.

“The passing was really good,” Crystal head coach Jose Ortiz said. “We are playing without three starters cause they are on vacation. I was worried with this group, some guys don’t get the minutes that they usually do. But they stepped up big time.”

The Gryphons spread the shooting around, with Tyler and senior Marcus Kueh converting two 3s apiece in the opening quarter, while senior Eugene Leung and sophomore Theo Lee each popped one.

“Honestly, I feel like this was our best 3-point shooting game of the year, so far,” Tyler said. “Just the way we came out in the beginning, making all of our 3s, that wasn’t really happening before. But I feel like once we started making them, we couldn’t stop making them.”

Led by senior Gavin Diaz’s 19 points, Crystal went on to shoot 47.1% from the field, including 11 of 21 from long range. Tyler added 15 points and seven rebounds.

“Our starters are great, but we know that the people behind them are great as well,” Tyler said. “So, we weren’t too worried about that.”

Oceana (4-5) never quite recovered, but matched Crystal’s tempo throughout a thrilling and eventful second quarter. The Sharks went on to win the quarter 23-22, with junior guard Catcher Ashkinos heating up to the tune of a game-high 21 points to go with eight rebounds.

Crystal opened the quarter with a midrange jumper from Diaz, but Ashkinos responded with a 3 to start a 9-2 Oceana run, capped by freshman point guard Landen Chan’s dance to the cylinder to sink a layup while drawing a foul. Chan couldn’t convert the and-1 attempt, however, and the Gryphons got cooking with a 12-2 run, sparked by Kueh poking at a Sharks possession for a steal and score, followed by a transition 3 from sophomore Kenan Guner.

Oceana committed 20 turnovers in the game, but the worst of it was early on with eight first-quarter turnovers. First-year head coach Dylan Sanford said the team couldn’t practice all week due to gym repairs (unrelated to the leak), while Oceana last played Dec. 19, in a 46-30 win over Summit Shasta. Sanford, though, attributed the turnover bug to the Sharks’ young roster. Oceana has four seniors on roster, two were out of action Friday.

“Good group, but young,” Sanford said.

Late in the first half, Crystal led 38-25 when play was stopped less than a minute before halftime due to a leak from the ceiling dripping onto the east side of the court just beyond the 3-point arc. The referees ran the 10-minute halftime clock early. With the rain subsiding in that time, and the gymnasium air conditioner being turned off, the drip stopped and play was resumed with 43 seconds remaining in the second quarter. The second half was started immediately thereafter.

Both teams came out of the break blazing, trading buckets until Crystal led 43-33 early in the third.

“They came out a little sluggish, continued that into the second quarter,” Sanford said. “So, coming out of that break, we needed to pick up some intensity, some energy, just to get a little more going.”

But the Sharks flinched first as Crystal scored back-to-back buckets on a driving layup by Diaz and a transition finish off a steal by Tyler. Oceana looked to respond at the other end, and Ashkinos connected from beyond the arc, but the shot was whistled off as the Sharks were called for a moving screen. Crystal went on to take the game in hand with a 10-0 run.

Oceana won the rebounding game 40-31, paced by a double-double from senior Dexter Miller, who totaled 10 points and 15 rebounds. The Sharks, though, struggled to convert many of their 13 offensive rebounds, and finished with a 37.5% shooting clip overall.

Crystal has two non-league games remaining prior to the West Bay Athletic League opener Jan. 13. The Gryphons have never finished with a league record of .500 or better, with their best WBAL record coming in 2022-23 season with a fifth-place finish at 4-5.

“We play in the WBAL, and there’s no easy game in our league,” Ortiz said. “I consider it the second-best league in [the Central Coast Section] behind the [West Catholic Athletic League]. You’ve got Sacred Heart, Menlo, Priory, King’s Academy. ... So, yeah, it’s going to be tough. But I think this year with the group of seniors that we have, we should be able to finish in the top 4 ... for the first time.”