Down on players, LCA feared it was 'gifting' basketball win

By Stephen Lahood --

Lighthouse Christian Academy was missing three starters for Tuesday's basketball game because the seniors went to Six Flags Magic Mountain for an unauthorized ditch day and were disqualified from league play.

Naturally, players were glum. Having won its first game, LCA didn't expect -- with only six players (half the roster) -- to be able to muster much.

But Highland Hall also showed up with only six players, and so the Santa Monica Saints won 43-22 in the Northridge game.

Merry Christmas.

At the first quarter, Lighthouse was sloppy. The score was 7-7. The Saints gave up easy turnovers.

In the second quarter, LCA picked up the pace and recovered its game somewhat, but still the score at half time was tight: 14-12.

During the break, coaches urged players to fix their mistakes and the Saints came out super-charged, shutting down Highland Hall's offense to only two points. LCA netted 13 points.

The fourth quarter was pretty much a inevitable march to victory.

"The movement and passing on offense in the second half was great," said Coach David Horowitz. "The movement and the aggressiveness on defense for the last 3/4 was great. Even when we were making mistakes, everybody had a positive attitude and was focused on correcting things and getting it right."

Stephen Lahood is a sophomore at LCA and plays on the team.