Santa Clara Still the Boss in Frontier

OXNARD â€”  There will be no new Frontier if the Santa Clara High boys’ basketball team has anything to say about it.

The Saints made that clear with a 54-50 victory over Moorpark in a showdown between Frontier League leaders Friday night at Santa Clara.

“We needed to win,� said Santa Clara forward Nick Jones, who came off the bench to contribute 19 points and six rebounds despite having flu all week.

“We just want to win all the time. We feel like we’re the underdog this year, but we’re always trying to be No. 1, no matter what.�

Santa Clara (12-4, 5-0 in league play) took a big step toward its 13th consecutive Frontier League title by opening a two-game lead over Moorpark (15-7, 3-2). The Saints’ last league loss was to Santa Paula in 1995, and they have yet to lose a Frontier game at home.

Jones, who did not start because of his illness, would not let the Saints lose this one. And neither would center Skye Peterson nor guard Peter Lee, who was nursing a sore ankle.

Jones scored nine points in the first quarter to spark the Saints to their first lead, 11-10.

Peterson finished with 10 points and seven rebounds, and Lee added seven points.

After the Musketeers closed to within six points in the fourth quarter, Lee scored off a steal. He hit three free throws in the final 1:28 after Moorpark cut its deficit to 49-46.

Kalani Ferreria and Keith Donahue helped Moorpark rally from 11 points down early in the fourth quarter. Ferreria scored 12 of his 14 points in the second half and Donahue scored seven of his 15 points in the fourth quarter, when Santa Clara committed six turnovers.

The Musketeers made only seven of 23 shots in the first half, when Santa Clara took a 32-22 lead.

In the second quarter, Moorpark committed six turnovers, missed its first four shots and did not score for the first three minutes. Santa Clara, meanwhile, used an 11-0 run at the start of the second quarter to take a 26-13 lead.