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Benches Clear As Saugus Spoils Ex-Coach Bedgood’s Return With 66-61 Win Over Valencia

Tempers flaring and a tie for first place on the line, Friday’s KHTS Game of the Night between the Saugus Centurions (16-6, 4-2) and the Valencia Vikings (8-13, 4-2) once again lived up to its billing, with the Centurions evening the season series 1-1.

With reigning Foothill League Player of the Year and Valencia’s leading scorer Dexter Akanno back in the starting lineup, on paper the Centurions would appear overmatched by the size and length of the Vikings.

One problem, Saugus senior Luke Bodeau.

Coming off a strong 15-point performance at Hart, Bodeau put together another strong offensive game en route to the Centurions staking their claim atop the Foothill League.

“I felt great [out there], Adrian is still our main man. He still played great, but I’m just happy that we were able to get this group of guys a win. We have a bunch of young guys that we taught how to win a close game against great competition”, said Bodeau. “Our guys grew up today.”

From the opening tip, Bodeau (game-high 22 points, 6 rebounds and 3 steals) was at his crafty, energetic best. He stole the ball from Vikings’ point guard Ben Grant and scored on a breakaway layup, getting off to a hot start. He had eight points, three rebounds and the steal in the first quarter.

Related Story: Saugus Hands Hart Second Consecutive Loss

In the second quarter, Valencia sophomore Jake Hlywiak found his rhythm scoring all but one of his 8 points in the quarter, evening up the score at 28 all heading into halftime.

Opening the third quarter, the Vikings defense turned up the defensive intensity, scoring six quick points off of two turnovers which made Saugus head coach Alfredo Manzano emphatically jump out of his seat to call a timeout.

At the 3:36 mark in the third, things started to take a turn. Players were jawing and the referees were starting to lose control.

After Saugus sophomore Adrian McIntyre (18 points, 3 rebounds and 3 assists) was fouled and went down hard, some of his teammates took offense and were visibly upset.

Not too long after, Valencia junior Josh Assif (11 points) and Saugus junior Alex Phan went to the ground for a loose ball, and the tussle resulted in a benches-clearing, coaches-shouting standoff. Administrators and officials from both teams rushed to mid court and met to decide if the game would continue.

It would be ten minutes until a decision was made to finish the game.

With tempers and boiling points at a palpable level, the fourth quarter proved to be even more exciting.

Trailing 55-51 with 3:03 left in the game, Valencia’s Assif got his man deep in the post and hit a turn-around 4-footer after being swiped across the face by a defender for an “and-one” opportunity. An opportunity that he did not convert into points, leaving the Vikings trailing, 55-53.

Saugus proceeded to go on a 6-0 run to put the game on ice and make sure its former coach left with a bad taste in his mouth.

“I love coach Bedgood. He’s a great guy, but it was bittersweet,” said Bodeau after the 66-61 win over his former coach.

Saugus and Valencia now sit in a four-way tie for first place in the Foothill League with Hart and West Ranch at 4-2. Of the four teams, only two will emerge from Tuesday’s games still atop the standings.

Saugus will be at West Ranch and Valencia will host Hart. Tip-off for both games is at 6:30.

Diego Marquez, KHTS Sports

KHTS Sports is your place for Santa Clarita Sports Report and the winter sports season. Find all the latest news and updates on your hometown schools here as they compete in the Foothill League, Heritage League, Western State Conference and GSAC. If you have any news and notes about our teams and players to share please send them to jp@hometownstation.com, like us on facebook.com/khtssports and follow us @KHTSSports on Twitter.

Benches Clear As Saugus Spoils Ex-Coach Bedgood’s Return With 66-61 Win Over Valencia

3 comments

  1. Alex phan is the goat, next year hes gonna average 20 I swear

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About Justin Powell

Justin moved to the San Fernando Valley from the Inland Empire in 2011 to complete his BA of Communications degree at California State University, Northridge. Just a few months after getting his degree he moved to Valencia and started as an intern at AM-1220 KHTS, and was promoted to Sports Reporter within a year. Though Justin is still relatively new to the Santa Clarita Valley, he is an avid sports fan and passionate about building the sports department at KHTS into a special source for local high school sports.