SoCalHoops High School News

Michael King: CASEY JACOBSEN DOES IT!
BREAKS STATE SCORING RECORD--(Feb. 9, 1999)

The articles have been few and far between since Saturday night.  So where, you ask, have we been since the Nike Extravaganza IV took place this past weekend?  Well, on Sunday, other than writing about 4 articles on the morning session of the Nike Extravaganza games, we just decided to take a few days off.   Too busy at work, a birthday celebration (don't ask how old), and computer problems (a hard disk replacement Sunday night just before a hardware failure. . . whew, fortunately no disasters); and then tonight we made an enormous mistake and went to the Crossroads v. Montclair Prep game. What a stupid, stupid choice that was. Montclair Prep lost by more than 40 points,  and we're told it was the first home loss ever to Crossroads at the Montclair Prep gym in more than 22 years. It's not that Montclair Prep doesn't have athletes, because they do, but they lack a certain something. . . like coaching. . . like continuity. . . like heart. But hey, this isn't supposed to be about Montclair Prep, but about history being made.  This is about Casey Jacobsen, who now ranks as perhaps the best ever single basketball player in the history of California high school hoops. 

And we didn't get to see that history being made.   Nope. If we'd thought about it for half a second, we would have driven east to Upland instead of into the heart of lovely Van Nuys, because that's where history was being made by Casey Jacobsen.  And if he isn't the "best ever" high school player in California history, he's now the highest scorer ever.

Fortunately for all of us, Michael King, who writes for the LA Times supplement "Our Times" did manage to get out to Upland, and he gave us this exclusive article. Enjoy

2/9/99, 9:30 p.m.

By MICHAEL KING

UPLAND – It appears the tale of Mighty Casey was due for a re-write.Glendora High School basketball star Casey Jacobsen shot his way into the record books Tuesday night as the Tartan senior broke the California career scoring record in Glendora’s (24-1, 9-0 in league) 70-64 win over arch rival Upland (21-3, 7-2).

The historical shot came with 1:17 remaining in the third quarter as Jacobsen drained a 23-foot three pointer from the top of the key, giving him 3,056 points – two more than Tracy Murray, who also played at Glendora.

“[The preceding] timeout, one of my teammates yelled, ‘One more and you’ve got it Case,’” said the 6-6 Jacobsen, who has already committed to play at Stanford next year. “I caught the ball up top and I didn’t see any arms in face. As soon as I let it go, I knew I had it.”

And even though the game was on Upland’s home floor, a celebration followed. Tartan fans showered the court with streamers and confetti and the officials stopped the game to award Jacobsen the game ball. While the floor was being swept of the debris, Jacobsen ran up into the stands and hugged his mother and handed her the ball.

“Other than at home or in a CIF championships game, this was definitely the best place to break the record,” said Jacobsen. “Every time we come here they give us a tough game and tonight was for the Baseline League title – who could ask for anything more.”

Jacobsen finished the game with 33 points, including six three-pointers as Glendora stretched a 29-26 halftime lead into as much as a 17-point advantage, at 51-14, following a trey by Chad Clark late in the third period. Upland put together a six-point run early in the fourth quarter to shrink the lead to 53-46 and had possession, but Jacobsen came up with a steal and scored in transition. Clark followed with a three on the next  position to seemingly put Upland away.

Seniors Matt Santos and Desmond Penigar had different ideas for Senior Night, though, as they refused to give up. Fouling and calling timeouts until the bitter end, the Highlanders gave the Tartans all they could  handle before the final buzzer sounded – making for a far better game  than last months 77-50 loss at Glendora.

“This game was full of distractions – it was a real roller coaster,”  Upland coach Jeff Klein said. “I’m proud of my players though because  they pushed all the way through and never hung their heads.”

Penigar kept the Highlanders in the game, scoring a team-high 22  points, mostly on deft post moves and athletic put-backs. Santos came   off the bench for disciplinary reasons but was a sparkplug on offense, scoring 13 points, and did a good job limiting Jacobsen when he drew him  on defense.

Upland’s Achilles heel in the last game was its post game as 6-11  Steven Hamilton and 6-7 DeMarcus Williams were held scoreless. This time  around Williams made his presence felt from the opening tip, picking up two offensive boards and scoring Upland’s first three points. Problem  was Williams also picked up two quick fouls and was in foul trouble for  the remainder of the game. Hamilton stepped up on defense but did not  see as much floor time in the second half as the Highlanders were trying  to mount a comeback. 

“I was really happy with what I saw from our big men,” Klein said.  “They could really be the difference for us in the postseason.” Chad Clark finished with 14 points for the Tartans and twin brother   Chris, who torched Upland for 27 last time out, added 10 more.

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