By Loren Kopff • @LorenKopff on X • January 8, 2025
It wasn’t the most desirable opponent Artesia High boys basketball head coach Jeff Myles was looking for, just three days before the 605 League opener. But when his team hosted Loara High last Saturday, he had a chance to play all 15 players on the team with all but two finding the scoring column.
The Pioneers scored the first 11 points of the game, and it only got better in a 76-33 win, leaving the black and red with a 7-5 record at the time. The contest came a day after Artesia fell to Wiseburn-Da Vinci High 59-53 in double overtime.
“Yesterday was a tough game because I know we lost by six, but we had a chance to win it,” said Myles. “I know the stats don’t show it, but we had a chance to win it. We missed some free throws late and missed some shots at the end. So, it was kind of tough to kind of come back and play [today]. A lot of our guys are still sad about that game, so I was kind of worried about how we would come out.”
Last Saturday, senior Jaylen Reed was on fire early, scoring 10 points in the opening quarter with a pair of rebounds and a block. He would add one more basket in the second quarter to complete his scoring, but for this game, it was the bench that outscored the starters. Junior Jordan Heredia scored 10 points coming off the bench with four in the first quarter, and a basket each in the second and third quarters while junior Kobe Young added nine points, including a three-pointer in the second and third quarters. The bench accounted for 46 points as the Pioneers led by 16 points at the half.
“Jaylen is a four-year varsity guy and has been guarding the best guys in practice,” said Myles. “He’s been through it all-all the playoff games, all the league games and league championships. So, he’s seen it all. He’s probably one of our seasoned veterans; him and [senior] Cayden [Del Rosario] are our captains this year. He’s probably our best overall player; we just have to get him to be a little bit more aggressive.”
Loara scored four points within the first 75 seconds of the second half, but after that, the Pioneers went on a 14-0 run to lead 56-27 entering the final quarter. Junior Christian Stewart added nine rebounds and eight points with senior Jovell Tate the next starter in points after Reed with seven.
What makes this season’s team different than previous Artesia squads is the focus isn’t on one or two players whereas in the past four seasons, most of the attention centered on Aaron Banks, Joshua Martinez or Zion Staples. All but one of the 11 seniors this season have scored, and all four juniors have done the same with five different players having led Artesia in scoring amongst the 12 games.
“This year we’re pretty deep; we’re about 12 guys deep, maybe more,” said Myles. “Today was a day where everybody got a chance to play. But realistically, we go about 12 deep and whoever is having a hot hand that day, whether it’s Jordan, whether it’s Kobe, whether it’s [senior] Sean [Dahilig], whether it’s [senior] Mekhi [Shield]…whoever it is, I like to go with the hot hand. I think today, Jordan had the hot hand early.”
Artesia began league play with a 56-51 win over Oxford Academy this past Tuesday and will host Whitney High on Friday, Cerritos High on Monday and John Glenn High on Wednesday.
“I know league is going to be tough this year,” said Myles. “League can be won by five out of the six teams. So it’s going to be tough; maybe Glenn might be a competition this year. We’re obviously not looking past anyone this year. Starting Tuesday, it’s going to be a battle, and we’re excited for the challenge.”
In other boys basketball action, the top games for the upcoming week include Gahr High (9-8) hosting Mayfair High (14-3) on Friday in the Gateway League opener, La Mirada High (15-4) facing Rancho Cucamonga High (15-6) on Saturday in the Southern California Showcase at Irvine Valley College, Norwalk High (12-7) visiting Bellflower High (10-7) on Friday and Valley Christian High (8-12) hosting Whittier Christian High (11-9) on Tuesday.
