Sophomores carry CHS to win

Carson High fans got a look at the future and it looks bright indeed.

With senior forward Cameron Price sidelined by the flu, the Senators relied on sophomores Jayden DeJoseph, Tez Allen and Jace Keema to play bigger roles, and the trio combined for 30 points in the Senators’ easy 51-29 Sierra League win over Damonte Ranch Friday night at Morse Burley Gym.

The win was Carson’s eighth straight and upped its league record to 10-2 and 13-6 overall. Galena beat Manogue, 65-45, giving the Senators a one game lead over the Grizzlies and a 1 1/2-game lead over the Miners with four games left in the regular season.

DeJoseph had a season-high 19 points, 13 coming in the first half. He was aggressive from the outset, scoring Carson’s first five points. Allen added six and Keema, who started in place of Price, had five first-quarter points. The trio has played together for several years, and it shows on the court.

“They (the sophomores) are all battle tested,” Carson coach Carlos Mendeguia said. “They are only as good as they practice, and we work with different rotations.

“I sent Cameron home after practice, and told him to watch the Galena-Manogue game and get some rest. Cameron is our leading scorer and rebounder, so anytime you are missing somebody like that you’re concerned. I talked to the sophomores, and told them we needed them to step up. This is a young group, but they are not playing with the deer in the headlights look.”

Definitely not.

The trio scored Carson’s first 21 points, as the Senators rolled to an 18-7 lead after one quarter and 21-12 with 4:59 left in the first half.

DeJoseph was as active as he’s been all year, scoring five straight to open the game. Allen’s layup made it 7-0 before Damonte got on the board on a basket by David Nicholas. Keema followed with his second trey in as many games, and then Brett Cooper scored five straight points for the Mustangs to make it 10-7. Carson went on an 8-0 run to end the quarter. Keema started the surge with a short jump shot, DeJoseph scored and then Allen scored twice more to end the quarter.

“Tez and I work very hard,” DeJoseph said. “We stepped it up tonight. We executed offensively and stuck to the game plan for the most part. Our teammates found us with good passes.”

“We knew we had to step up,” Allen said. “We knew we had to without Cameron.”

Mendeguia said Allen is getting better.

“Tez is coming around,” Mendeguia said. “I get on Tez pretty hard at practice. He is understanding what it takes to play at the varsity level. We’ve been working on getting the young kids to show up every day ready to play.”

DeJoseph opened the quarter with a layup to make it 20-7, and Alec Seiler scored a hoop, and after a CHS turnover, Isaiah Mullins converted a three-point play to make it 20-12. Four points by DeJoseph and a basket by Kyle Steele made it 26-12, but Brett Cooper’s four-point play trimmed the lead to 10 at 26-16 before Ian Schulz ended the half with a hoop for a 28-16 lead at the break.

Damonte did cut the lead to 32-24 with 5:09 left in the third. It was the last time that the Mustangs had a single-digit deficit.

DeJoseph and Asa Carter caught fire in the final 4:22, leading a 10-0 surge to make it 42-24 after three.

After Allen misfired twice on the same sequence, DeJoseph scored on a putback, and then he scored again after a Damonte turnover. Damonte missed its next three shots from the field, and Carter scored after all three.

The onslaught didn’t stop there.

Carter, Schulz and Dilyn Rooker all went 1-for-2 from the line to stretch the lead to 45-24 with 3:26 left. Mendeguia emptied his bench, and reserves Cody Azevedo and Eddie Duarte got on the board.

In was another outstanding defensive effort for the Senators.

During their eight-game win streak, they have held opponents to less than 40 points five times. In 19 games, Carson has held opponents to 40 points or less 11 times.

“We wanted to hold them under 30 tonight,” Mendeguia said.

“The second group did a good job when they got in there.”