REDLANDS — Arrowhead Christian Academy’s Parker Distleberg torched the Linfield Christian boys basketball team to the tune of 33 points when the Ambassador League squads squared off for the first time earlier this month.
Linfield Christian’s Xavier Cox made certain a fire never got started in Monday night’s rematch.
Cox held Distleberg scoreless for the first 28 minutes of the game, the highlight of a strong defensive effort by the Lions, who beat Arrowhead Christian 48-37 to remain in first place in the Ambassador League standings.
Distleberg got off 25 shots during that first meeting against the Lions but was held to five points on 2-of-11 shooting Monday.
“He was upset with me when we played at our place because I didn’t start him there,” Linfield Christian coach Waheed Mitchell said about Cox. “He had a little talk with the coach and told me he wanted that assignment next time.”
Distleberg did not score until 4 minutes remaining in the game, when he stole a pass under the basket and made a easy layup.
“It was locked in my head, this dude is not going to score on me,” Cox said about his defensive assignment Monday night. “I came out strong and never let up. Luckily I had my entire team behind me and we went out there and got the job done.”
Tyler Young scored the first five points of the evening and Arrowhead Christian’s first 10 points of the game to keep the score close in the opening period. Linfield Christian (12-12 overall, 4-1 in league) kept things balanced on offense at the outset, with Cox scoring five points to help the Lions carve out a 15-12 advantage.
Daniel Crawford scored 16 points to lead the way for Linfield Christian, with half of his points coming in a span of 38 seconds early in the second period. That run by Crawford helped the Lions extend their lead to 11.
“My teammates get me open. They hunt for me,” Crawford said. “They know when I get hot, I really get going… I tend to have little spurts like that where I explode scoring points, and they know how to get me the ball.”
Arrowhead Christian (11-12, 3-3) closed the half with a 10-3 run to get the deficit to 26-22 at intermission.
Unfortunately for the Eagles, their side of the scoreboard still showed 22 points when the third period ended. Arrowhead Christian went 0 for 8 from the field during that qaurter and also turned the ball over nine times.
“We were just flying around. We call it hunting together,” Mitchell said of his team’s defensive performance. “We wanted to keep our energy up on that end. Shots come and go in a game, but defense will always travel.”
Julius Brower and Crawford combined for 11 points in the third quarter to push Linfield Christian’s lead to 42-22.
The Lions had difficulty sticking the landing, however, as Arrowhead Christian stepped up the pressure during the final period. The Eagles forced a slew of turnovers and went on a 12-0 run to get within 42-34 with 2 1/2 minutes to play. Curtis Emungu led that charge for Arrowhead Christian, scoring six of his eight points during that stretch.
But the hole was too deep for a comeback. Linfield Christian was able to settle down and secure the victory.
“The first five minutes of the fourth quarter, that’s going to be our film session tomorrow,” Mitchell said. “We allowed them to speed us up and had moments where we just panicked… We have to be cleaner than that.”
Brower and Cox finished with 15 and 10 points, respectively, while Crawford tallied a game-high 12 rebounds for the Lions.
Young finished with a game-high 17 points and added seven rebounds to lead the way for Arrowhead Christian.
Linfield Christian is seeking its first league title since 2022. The Lions have a half-game lead on two-time defending league champion Aquinas, and a 1 1/2-game advantage on both Ontario Christian and Arrowhead Christian. Linfield Christian travels to Woodcrest Christian on Saturday, then has home games against Aquinas (Feb. 3) and Ontario Christian (Feb. 5).
“We’re just going to focus on getting better,” Cox said. “We’re going to come out ready to win and get a league title.”
