After getting embarrassed 92-50 at home by Poly on Monday, Arleta head coach Jason Hill challenged his team to respond with energy and resilience. From the opening horn the Mustangs answered the call, taking the fight to a heavily favored Grant squad that had won 40 consecutive East Valley league games. Lancers head coach Tarek Abdelsameia wasn’t caught off guard by the Mustangs—he had a young team (a departure from previous years)—and believed Arleta’s Monday blowout loss was an outlier. Abdelsameia expected a hard-fought battle against a team eager to prove itself again.

Setting the tone early for Arleta, senior guard Jason Mariscovetere threaded a perfect backdoor pass to fellow senior Emiliano Lopez for the game’s opening bucket. The connection foreshadowed the precision the Mustangs were able execute all game long. This countered Grant’s size advantage, particularly in the paint. Meanwhile the Lancer’s relied on their athleticism and individual skill, but defensively were consistently a half step behind the Mustang playmakers who made sure to capitalize on every opportunity.

Arleta’s senior duo of Joaquin Corleto and Emiliano Lopez spearheaded the offense, keeping Grant’s defenders on their heels. Corleto knocked down two early 3s, providing a confidence boost that made it clear this wouldn’t be another lopsided affair. While Corleto proved dangerous from the perimeter, Lopez relentlessly drove into the paint and converted a pair of early and-1s to stretch Arleta’s lead to 17-10 late in the first quarter. 

After struggling early to find their offensive rhythm, Lancer sophomores Noah Lett and Andrew Berry began playing a two-man game. Berry’s adept penetration and dishes set up Lett for multiple buckets around the rim, helping the Lancers claw back and close the quarter trailing by just one, 23-22.

As the second quarter unfolded, the tide shifted toward Grant. Arleta kept its foot on the gas but Grant took its first lead at 32-31 on senior Ronald Merrill‘s midrange jumper. From here the game became a thrilling back-and-forth battle. Abdelsameia rotated freely, utilizing a deep bench with nine players seeing first-half action. Sophomore Isreal Mullings made three tough baskets around the rim and freshman Daniel Herendez, who added a pair of steals, used his passing to help handle Arleta’s full court press—though occasional turnovers made the Mustangs’ aggressive approach worthwhile.

Arleta junior guard Luke Dizon provided pesky defense and a much needed third scorer. But it was Lopez’s relentless play on both ends of the court, scoring 14 and helping to contain Merrill to 8 first half points, that drove Arleta. Corleto remained a threat from deep, draining his third three of the half, and the Mustangs maintained a slim 38-35 lead at the break.

The Lancer’s came out in the second half ready to impose their will and dominated the paint early behind 6’5” sophomore Wizdom Burns. Burns’ rebounding and putbacks, along with Merrill finally draining his first 3-pointer and a pair of floaters, helped Grant take the lead and stretch it to 52-45 midway through the third. Just when it felt like the momentum was firmly in the Lancer’s hands, Corleto stepped up again, nailing two clutch three-pointers in the final minute of the quarter that kept the Mustangs within striking distance at 61-58.

The fourth quarter opened with Lopez completing his trademark slashing drive to his left with the harm, bringing the Mustangs all the way back to 61-61. From there it was “buckle-up” time as the momentum kept swinging between the teams and the defenses locked down. Grant’s Herendez came up with a pair of crucial steals, the last one leading to a perfectly placed pass to Mullings who converted the layup, putting the Lancers up 72 to 70 with 30 seconds remaining.

Facing their last possession, There was no secret which Mustang was going to get the rock. Lopez took the ball at the top of the key, driving to his left like he had all game long, but this time the Lancers were ready and stripped him of the ball. 

However, in their haste to push the ball out from under their own basket, Grant coughed it back up to Arleta’s Corleto, who immediately drove to his left, somehow finished through contact and tie the game at 72 with 17 seconds left. Corleto went to the line to try and nail down the three-point play and give the Mustangs the lead. It was tense, because just a minute earlier, Corleto had missed the free throw and failed to finish a three-point play. Corleto stepped to the charity stripe with the lead within his grasp and calmly sank the go-ahead foul shot, putting Arleta up 73 to 72 with 17 ticks left on the clock.

With time winding down, Grant isolated Merrill, who dribbled the ball into the paint, using his jump-stop to get separation and a good look at the rim, releasing his high percentage floater. The shot hit the front of the rim, rolled around and agonizingly spun out. A frantic scramble for the rebound ensued as Grant desperately tried to get a putback. Despite some contact, no  whistle came. Abdelsameia protested furiously about the no-call but the officials let the play stand. The Mustangs had stunned the Lancers and ended their 40-game league win streak.

Grant was led by Lett with 20 points. Andrew Berry finished with 8 assists. Merrill had 18 points but on 18 shots. After the game, Abdelsameia criticized the Lancers’ effort on defense: “We got real lazy defensively. We didn’t want to let their shooters get off and tried to press them but we didn’t do a very good job of it – guys weren’t closing out. Look, Arleta is well-coached. Jason is a great coach. They have two really good players and (they) were better than our guys tonight. They deserve it.”

Lopez led Arleta with 29 points hitting 13-15 free throws. Corleto added 25 points, hitting 5 of 6 3-pointers. Reflecting on the comeback win after the debacle against Poly, Hill beamed: “That’s Mustang basketball. That’s what we’ve been doing since I’ve been here. We’re good when we play together. When we do individual work, we’re not that good. That showed against Poly on Monday.” Hill tried to isolate what clicked tonight, “Our defense was okay but we hit big shots in big moments. Still felt there were some rebounds we should’ve gotten but overall I’m pleased. I’ll take an ugly win over a pretty loss anytime.”

Grant travels to Poly for their showdown (Friday 2/7 @ 7:00 P.M.), wounded from this loss. How will the Lancers respond? They face Poly twice in seven days which makes for must-watch East Valley viewing.

Arleta looks to build on this big win at home against Chavez this Friday 2/7 @ 7:00 P.M.