SoCalHoops High School News

adidas Double Pump Hoop Challenge:
Canyon Beats Ocean View By One--(Jan 17, 1998)

Wow, was this game early. It was so early that even we didn't make it there. But we got some really good insights into what happened from a bunch of our friends who arrived before we did, and here's what we learned went on:

Bottom Line:  The score was Canyon 41, Ocean View 40.

And there weren't a lot of people out for the earliest game.   Of course that would all change later in the day, as the crowds filled up for games like Artesia v. Mayfair, Long Beach Poly v. Long Beach Jordan, Verbum Dei v. Fresno Edison, and others.  Which had us wondering, why, if Canyon Anahiem was the "host" school (something the CIF requires in events of this type) why they didn't at least sneak themselves in later in the day when more people would be there to watch? Oh well, it was a good game anyway.

Both Ocean View and Canyon started out slowly, and Canyon trailed for most of the game. Both of these teams had trouble getting started, and each of them had played league games the previous night, so a 9:00 a.m. start time (which meant leaving Orange County at 7:00 a.m. just to make it up to Dominguez by 8:30 in time to warm up and get ready for the 9:00 a.m.) was a heavy price to pay for playing in this inaugural event. Canyon was coming off a close Century League win at Foothill, 65-62,   on Friday night, less than 12 hours earlier, a game in which Neil Hammad scored 33 points and Roger Hogan had 23, including five three-pointers.  In that one too, Canyon trailed for most of the first three quarters before rallying for the win. Ocean View, for it's part, beat Santa Ana, 51-34. In that one, Tony Dow scored nine points and seven assists. 

But on Saturday, the Seahawks were just shot out and didn't make a field goal until midway through the first quarter, but came back to take a 21-13 halftime lead. Canyon (11-6) trailed 34-22 after three quarters, but held Ocean View (16-4) scoreless for the first 5:18 of the fourth period with a stifling pressure defense. A three-pointer by Hammad with 2:07 remaining gave the Comanches their first lead since the first quarter at 37-36. Tony Dow and Canyon's Ryan Romberg traded baskets, and then Ocean View's Jeremiah Bell hit a layup to give Ocean View the lead, 40-39 with just 40 seconds to play. The winning shot was hit by, who else, Neil Hammad, with 21 seconds remaining on the clock off a layup.  Tony Dow had a shot to try to win it at the end, but it hit the front of the rim as time expired, and Canyon escaped with the win.

Hammad scored a game-high 24 points, including eight in the fourth quarter; Roger Hogan finished with only 9, Sherman with 2, Ryan Romberg had 6 points and grabbed nine rebounds, and Yu failed to score.  Rawshaw McAfee led Ocean View with nine points, and Casey Lawson added six points, eight rebounds and three steals, Ryan Westbrook finished with 6, Antonson had 5, Bell had 4, and Torin Beeler had only 6 points.

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