Nipomo defeats Templeton 74-60 behind Lucca Hart’s 38-point effort
Nipomo and Templeton battled it out in a high-scoring first half Wednesday night, before a 12-point third quarter from Lucca Hart gave the Titans enough of a boost for the 74-60 win.
Hart finished with 38 points and converted on 19 of his 21 free throw attempts to go along with five three-pointers. He hit numerous shots from deep that opened up driving lanes to attack and dish to open teammates.
“I try to rein him in the first shot he takes in the game, but then also he’s probably the best shooter in the area, so he knows when he’s feeling it. So I got to let him go,” Nipomo Head Coach Stan Ikeda said.
With the win, Nipomo moved to 7-3 (14-11 overall) and is in third place in the Ocean League. Templeton took the first matchup against Nipomo, but fell to 7-4 in league play (14-11 overall) in fourth place.
High-scoring first half
The Titans and Eagles played at a relentless pace in the first half with both teams leaning onto their guards to create offense. Hart dueled with Templeton senior point guard Nicky Frangie, who finished with 18 points and responded with four threes of his own.
The teams went into the locker room at halftime with Nipomo up 38-36.
Then, Hart went on a tear to open up the second half. Capitalizing on multiple Templeton turnovers, he hit three three-pointers and forced an Eagles’ timeout as the lead ballooned to 13.
After Hart’s run, Junior forward Ryan McNamee helped steady the Eagles, hitting a stepback jumper and two three-pointers. He scored 26 points on a scorching eight three-pointers while narrowing the deficit to six points in the fourth quarter.
It ended up being a historic night for McNamee as well, as he broke Templeton’s all-time record for three-pointers.
The offensive firepower that was on full display most of the game eased up in the fourth as the teams combined for only six field goals.
On tired legs, Hart grinded his way to the free throw line 11 times and was perfect from the stripe in the fourth quarter.
“I just tried to get (my defender) up in the air where I can get to the basket and facilitate for the rest of the team when (Templeton) was coming back,” Hart said.
Meanwhile, other Nipomo players pitched in timely contributions. Karl DiModica came up with key rebounds and a finish around the rim. He added 15 points.
“Tonight I thought our bench played good. … We moved the ball really well. So we got some … finishes inside and that loosened up even more for (Lucca) in order to make some of those layups,” Ikeda said.
With the win over the Eagles, Nipomo has split their season series against their top competition in the Ocean League: San Luis Obispo, Santa Ynez and Templeton.
“We need SLO to lose one more, and then we’ll be tied for first again. We got to finish out the rest of our games. We got an easier schedule from here, but we got to finish out,” Hart said.
“I think that’s the strength of our team. … I can go small, I can go big, which is not the case every year,” Ikeda said. “I think that like tonight, they were big, so we went a little bigger. Got to play my bigs against other teams like Morro Bay, or some of the other teams that were tough on us too. ... I think that’s helped us this year.”
Nipomo will take on Morro Bay at home Friday at 6:30 p.m. Templeton has a home matchup against Santa Maria on Friday at 7:30 p.m.
This story was originally published February 2, 2023 at 10:31 AM.