Crespi Duo Connect in Win Over Alemany

Teammates on and off since the sixth grade, Crespi High’s Rob Leff and Randy Coleman have been on the same wavelength for most of their basketball-playing lives.

Youth teams here, playground teams there, and now in high school. And when it comes to scoring, the pair have definitely been more on than off this season.

At times, it seems like they share a common brain, which helps the other’s totals.

“I know what he wants to do, he knows what I want to do,” Leff said. “We have the post game and the in-and-out (plays) down pretty well.”

Based on the way their scoring has carried Crespi, they have the ins and outs of the postgame interview down pat as well.

Leff and Coleman, both of whom transferred to Crespi before their junior seasons, each cracked the 20-point plateau as the Celts ganged up on Alemany, 82-69, in a Mission League game at Crespi.

Coleman made nine of 10 shots from the field and finished with 20 points. More important, he ignited the Crespi offense with a dunk off a rebound with 5 minutes 15 seconds left in the third quarter.

After a miss by Leff, Coleman palmed the rebound and slammed it home to give Crespi a 45-40 lead.

“Basically, I go for the rebound, and if I’m up there, I do what I can with it,” Coleman said.

Crespi (9-6, 4-1 in league play) was anything but with it for much of the first half.

Even though Alemany (9-9, 3-3) was playing without an injured Richard Dice (21.6-point average), the inspired Indians held a 37-34 lead at halftime and once led by as many as 12 points.

With Crespi holding a 47-44 lead in the third quarter, point guard Charles Aghajanian (five points, 10 assists) burned Alemany with a sparkling behind-the-back pass to Jeff Luderer (17 points) to finish a Crespi fast break.

And it broke Alemany’s back.

Luderer’s basket started a 13-2 run, giving Crespi a 60-46 lead with a minute left in the quarter.

Coleman had six rebounds in the quarter to hold Alemany at bay inside, and Leff found his stroke after a cool first half.

Leff, a 6-foot-4 senior, made five of nine shots from the perimeter in the third quarter, and made three of five from three-point range. He finished with a game-high 22 points.

“I just shoot ‘em up,” Leff said. “Sometimes I feel it, sometimes I have to make the first one to get going.”

Crespi buried Alemany with 26 points in the third quarter and held off the Indians in the fourth quarter despite 10 turnovers.

Alemany tried to compensate for the loss of Dice--who sprained both ankles in a league loss Monday--with balance it rarely had displayed all season. Four players scored in double figures, led by guards Chris Bello (17 points) and Mike Smith (13).

Crespi hurt Alemany with vastly superior inside play, however. In addition to the contributions of Coleman and Leff, senior center Matt Carpenter added 14 points and 10 rebounds.