SoCalHoops High School News

CIF Southern Section Playoffs: Division V-AA
Game Previews--(March 2, 1999)

When we said yesterday that there were only 6 games being played in the semifinals tonight in the various divisions, we completely overlooked D-II-AA. How could we overlook Dominguez' bracket?  We don't know.   But we're here to make it right again. We've put together some small previews for tonight's games in Division V-AA. If you want specific information on a player, or on a particular game played earlier this year by any team, use the "Search SoCalHoops" link on the lower-left hand side of the navigation bar. Otherwise, below is as good as it gets.  

Division V-AA Upper Bracket Semifinal

Pasadena Poly v. Desert
At La Canada High School 7:30 p.m.

The top-seeded Panthers (26-0) have survived two consecutive road tests to advance to the DivisionV-AA final four for the second time in three years.
Pasadena Poly again will put its lengthy winning streak on the line against an unseeded team.  Poly used a 15-9 edge in the fourth quarter to slip past a tough Campbell Hall team, 40-34, in the quarterfinals last Friday night.  Koko Archibong's 12 points and Matt Lawler's 11 points helped the Panthers avoid elimination. Matt Easterlin had eight points and Ryan Haden had seven.  The winner tonight will face the winner of third-seeded Pacific Hills and second-seeded Santa Clara. The DivisionV-AA title game is set for Friday at the Bren Center at UC Irvine.  "The one constant for us all season is that we have played very sound defense," Poly coach Brad Hall said. "We know we have to play really well."  Pasadena Poly's five starters have played in a combined 73 playoff games.

We really don't know very much about Desert, but there are some things that are known:  Desert finished 15-6 overall and 7-6 in the High Desert League.  The Scorpions finished third in league, and have a very large roster, and even have some height, and they look, at least on paper, like they will give Poly some trouble.  Michael Williams (6'-1" Jr. G) averaged 14.9 ppg this season, and Sidney Melvin (6'-2" So. F) was hitting for 17.2 ppg.  The rest of the names on the roster really don't mean very much to us right now, but who knows, maybe they will after tonight.  Only time will tell.

Division V-AA Lower Bracket Semifinal

Santa Clara v. Pacific Hills
At Oxnard Collge, 7:30 p.m.

This is a great matchup of two fine winning teams.  Santa Clara was the team everyone picked to win it all last year in Division V, but then Nick Jones broke his foot.  Instead, Pacific Hills ended up taking three triple overtime games into the State Tournament, and they were the 1997-98 State Champs. Whether they've got enough depth this year to hold off the No. 2 seeded Santa Clara Broncos again is something  only time will tell.

Pacific Hills is the defending State Champion in Division V, the Southern Section CIF Division V Champion, and they've won 5 CIF Southern Section Titles in the school's recent history. They were the State Runners-Up in 1989, losing in the final to Menlo School 64-59 in a game played at Pepperdine (when the school was called Bel-Air Prep), and then again they lost in the State Finals in 1994 to Ripon 60-46 in a game played at the Oakland Coliseum. Of course, before it was known as Pacific Hills, it was a prep school which was the home, for a short while of Monica Lewinsky. Really, that's not a joke. And it's also the alma mater of David and Dana Pump. But as small as it is, it's a seriously talented basketball school with a great tradition of winning, and last season was about the most exciting they've had in memory. In the Southern California Regional finals of the State Championship Tournament, PH went three overtimes against top-seeded San Diego Horizon before winning 81-79. And in the semi-finals of the Southern Section playoffs, against Montclair Prep, a team which actually had been favored by many in pre-season to win the State Title, Pacific Hills also went into triple-overtime, winning on a tip at the buzzer after missing the front end of a free-throw but getting the second one off a miss. And in the Southern Section Final, against Oxnard Santa Clara,
they did it again, going to triple overtime before winning 82-76. These guys were the Cliffhanger Kids last year.

This year, they've also done quite well, but they are not as heavily favored as a State Championship team might be that only graduated one really high profile player (Conrad Adamczak, who reportedly had signed with Iona, and then apparently didn't). Pacific Hills last year featured some very talented guys, none more than Conrad Adamczak (6'-5" F) who is now attending prep school in the east at Notre Dame Academy Prep School. Also gone from last year's squad are Kamaal Davis (6'-1" G), Peter Rovekamp (5'-11" F), Charles Pagan (6'-0" F), Yves Benaroch, and Gary White. The team had 8 juniors and sophomores last year, and one freshman, and almost all of them returned.

Pacific Hills, as expected, finished second in Delphic League behind Division IV Crossroads, but ahead of third place Campbell Hall. In the first round they pounded Glendale Adventist 96-34; in the second round, they destroyed Lucerne Valley 78-27; and in the third round, they barely survived in their first real test against St. Anthony, a too-close-for-comfort game which Pacific Hills won by a single point, 56-55.

As for Santa Clara, they entered the playoffs as the No. 2 seed in the division, tied for first in their league with D-IIIA semifinalist Nordhoff, and what this team lacks in height, it more than makes up for in quickness, speed and shooting ability from the perimeter and good penetration. It all starts with Nick Jones and BJ Ward, both of whom have signed to play at UCSB. BJ is probably one of the best guards in the class and a true point, and Lou is quick to acknowledge there isn't really anything he can't do. "BJ is quick, one of the best and can do everything: dribble, shoot, penetrate, and dish the ball." BJ has great court vision, and he'll be an immediate impact player next year along with Jones. Nick is also an overall great player with a tremendous handle, the
ability to shoot off the dribble or spot up, and he moves very well with and without the ball. He's also one of the best defenders on the team and with his jumping ability is also a top rebounder and shotblocker. "Who knows how far we would have gone last season if he hadn't been hurt. But that's
what happens sometimes. The injuries can just kill you."

Santa Clara likes to run a five-man motion, where the parts are pretty interchangeable, and not much in the way of traditional half-court offense, most of his players are true guards, and they all defend very well man-to-man, which is the only kind of defense he likes to run. Anthony Camper, has helped in this system, and he's a capable shooter with a good handle, who can create his shot, hit the j, or spot up. He's a very unselfish player, really very team oriented, and Lou tells us that he's being groomed to be the point guard for next year. For now, though, he's playing at the two and sometimes the three (to the extent there is a "three" at all on a team full of guards)  Another two guard with very good passing skills and a very tough defender is Mel Angell.

So far Santa Clara has not had a serious challenge yet in the playoffs. They beat Holy Martyrs 70-37; they beat Faith Baptist 62-38 in the second round; and they beat Chadwick 81-60 last Friday night.  Remember, this is a team that almost beat Simi Valley in their own tournament over the Christmas Holiday break this year.  Santa Clara is tough, strong, and they can shoot the lights out.

These are the "pre-season" rosters we had in our profiles which we did in October of 1998 before the season officially got underway. We're pretty certain that there have been several additions, and with respect to Pacific Hills, there's been at least one very significant deletion from the roster we originally printed:  Brandon Owens (5'-9" Sr. PG) is no longer with the team and hasn't been for most of the season. We've heard various rumors about where he went (including that he transferred to Dominguez) but we haven't seen him since the season began.  In any event here are the admittedly incomplete rosters.

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