SoCalHoops High School News

Nike Extravaganza Game 8: Dominguez
Drops Another One To Oak Hill--(Feb. 10, 1999)

Of course, this game was played last Saturday night, so you undoubtedly already know what happened. At least you may know the final score. But unless you were there, you really can't know what really transpired. So we're here to help, if only in a small way. Really small.

This was a game that got started way too late (10:30 p.m.) and which ended way too late (close to midnight) but we hung in there until well after the bitter end, and it was indeed a bitter pill for the Compton faithful, as Oak Hill Academy of Mouth of Wilson, Va., once again beat Compton Dominguez (21-3), this time 60-56 in the final game of the day at the Nike Extravaganza IV. Oak Hill (26-0), the nation's top-ranked high school basketball team in the USA Today poll, didn't dominate this game by any means, but when it counted they got the play they needed from guard Cliff Hawkins and several dunks by Travis Watson. Not the usual dunk-festival that we saw from Oak Hill at the Las Vegas Reebok Holiday Classic in December, but enough dunks in this one to pull it off. And Dominguez was ultimately left licking its wounds and it's slightly hurt pride, but other than Dominguez right now in Division II, there probably isn't a better team in anywhere in the state, particularly if they can play like they did on Saturday when it comes time for the Southern Section playoffs next week.

We were really impressed with the play of Tyson Chandler on defense, not so much on offense because he only scored 5 points, but he did manage 7 rebounds overall and he had 4 blocked shots, all in the first half. But in the first quarter, Tyson was about the only bright spot for the Dons, as Oak Hill managed to jump out to an 11-1 lead in the first quarter, with 4 minutes still left to play in the quarter. But the Warriors' offense was disrupted when point guard Terry Reynolds picked up his third foul with 1:49 to go in the first quarter and went to the bench, which was really a shame for the Warriors and the rest of us who came out to watch him, because he was playing some of the best one-on-one offense this side of the NBA. Really. Reynolds has one of the meanest cross-over dribbles and he literally left Marcus Moore standing there watching his dust on several occasions.

Ronald Slay, the big threat from Oak Hill never realy materialized on Saturday, and according to Oak Hill coach Steve Smith, Slay had the flu and was not feeling well. Whatever he had, he didn't look well either, and he was having difficulty with the 7'-0" Chandler for most of the night. Slay finished with only 12 points, and only one slam dunk that we can recall, which was really quite a contrast from what we saw Slay and Watson do to Mt. Zion when they beat them by 30 in Vegas. On this night, Cliff Hawkins was the high scorer for Oak Hill with 18, and Terry Reynolds and Steve Blake both finished with 9. Interestingly, Blake only had 2 assists, an indication of just how much one-on-one play this team engaged in Saturday.

Dominguez, largely off scoring by Keith Brooks (12 points) and Keith Kincade (12 points) and some really amazing drives by Marcus Moore--who still dribbles with his head down too much for our liking-- managed to tie the score three times, and at then end o fthe first quarter the score was 17-11; in the second quarter, Dominguez actually outscored Oak Hill, and off a great shot by Kincade with just seconds remaining, the Dons managed to trail by only three, 30-27 at the half. In the third quarter, Dominguez again outscored the Warriors by three, again 16-13, and they managed to tie it up at 43-43, b ut then it all came down to the final minutes of the fourth quarter. Louis Johnson of the Long Beach Press Telegram was sitting next to us during the game, and he attributed the loss to the Dons' 20 turnovers - including five in the fourth quarter - along with a miserable performance at the foul line (13 for 23). And we wouldn't disagree with him. Had it not been for the sloppy ball handling, or the seeming inability for some of the Dons players to adjust to the defensive pressure thrown at them by Oak Hill, which was considerable, Dominguez might have pulled this one out.

And since Louis did such great job writing about the final seconds of the game, we'll just borrow a bit from his article, published Monday in the Long Beach Press-Telegram. Here's what he said:

Senior point guard Marcus Moore converted a three-point play early in the third quarter to give Dominguez, which had tied the score on three different occasions in the second quarter, its first lead of the game at 32-30. Brooks (eight rebounds) asserted himself offensively in the quarter, scoring eight of his 12 points in the period as the teams headed into the final quarter tied at 43.

Brooks scored inside to give the Dons a 47-45 lead with just more than six minutes left. But Oak Hill responded with a 7-1 run, capped by Slay's rebound and put back after a missed foul shot, to surge back in front, 52-48.

Steve Moore (14 points) sank a 3-pointer and Marcus Moore made one of two free throws to help Dominguez pull even at 54 with 1:33 left. However, Slay responded with a basket inside, and after Marcus Moore missed a driving layin, Hawkins made a slick move off the dribble to get into the lane and score the game's biggest bucket with 27 seconds left to give Oak Hill a four-point advantage. Watson threw down an emphatic dunk with 10 seconds left to seal the Dons' fate. Kincade (12 points) scored on a layup just before the final buzzer to complete the scoring.

We've got lots of pictures of this one; of course they're not of the same quality as Larry Gray's photos, but they're here. We'll post up Jason Day's article shortly along with Larry's photos as well.