southern regional semi results for dominguez, inglewood, edison & mayfair

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SoCalHoops High School News

CIF D-II SoCal Region Semifinals: Dons Beat
Inglewood; Edison Beats Mayfair--(March 12, 1999)

Upper Bracket

Dominguez 71, Inglewood 42

Compton Dominguez entered this game as the No. 8-ranked team in the nation by USA Today and the No. 1 seed in the Division. And they left the game without any fear of losing that ranking, as they used their superior athletic ability to end Inglewood's season with a 29 point win, 71-42 in the CIF Southern California Division II semifinals last night at Dominguez. The Sentinels, who cruised through the preseason, playing in more games than just about anyone as they finished 11th at the Reebok Holiday Prep Classic in Las Vegas, finished high at the San Diego Holiday tournament, and then rolled through the regular season amassing a 30-5 record, only to be caught with their pants down around their ankles in the CIF Southern Section II-AA final by Mayfair, closed out their season last night, and also closed out the high school careers of a couple of their star players.

The Dons improved to 30-3 and will play Fresno Edison in Saturday's regional final at the Pyramid. Inglewood coach Patrick Roy, who watched his team unravel for the second time in three games, told reporters that the season was a disappointment despite all the victories. “ We won a lot of ballgames,” said Roy. “But overall it's very disappointing. To win 30 games and come away with nothing but a league title is terrible.” Inglewood point guard Brian Taylor scored seven points in the first quarter as the Sentinels appeared as though they were going to give Dominguez a game. But Inglewood's ability to play inside with Tyson Chandler and Keith Kincade, was hurt badly when 6-foot-9 center Noel Felix picked up his second foul two minutes into the game and didn't play again until the start of the third quarter. That allowed 7-foot center Tyson Chandler to dominate, and he did, blocking nine shots, grabbing 10 boards, and scoring nine points. Marvin Isaacs paced Inglewood with 14 points and Skip Esene notched 10.

The Sentinels trailed, 12-11, after the first quarter. Then, just like the fourth quarter of the Mayfair game, in which the Sentinels were outscored 17-3, they began to disappear. Dominguez opened the second quarter on a 14-2 run (Inglewood's only basket was on a goaltending call). Redondo transfer Marcus Moore led the run by scoring six points on dynamic spin moves in the lane. Inglewood's Marvin Isaacs finally scored at the 2:21 mark, but by then the Sentinels trailed, 26-15. The Dons closed out the half on a 6-1 spurt to lead, 34-19, at the break. Inglewood never threatened again, as the Dons dominated the inside.

The top-seeded Dons blocked 12 shots overall, and gave probably their best defensive performance this year. Louis Johnson of the Press-Telegram put it eloquently when he wrote: "While Chandler was a terror defensively, it was a pair of "veterans" who made the biggest impact on offense for the Dons. Senior shooting guard Keith Kincade scored a team-high 15 points, and senior point guard Marcus Moore added 12 points, six rebounds, six assists and four steals. After a sloppy first quarter in which it managed to end with only a 12-11 lead, the Dons' defense took over in the second period, holding Inglewood (30-5) to just eight points, including two in the first six minutes, on the way to building a 34-19 halftime edge. Moore and Kincade combined to score 14 points in the period. Junior forward Keith Brooks (13 rebounds) scored six of his 10 points during the first four minutes of the second half as Dominguez increased its advantage to 42-23 midway through the third quarter. But the Dons turned the ball over four times in the closing minutes, and a 3-pointer by senior forward Skip Esene (10 points) that just beat the buzzer pulled the Sentinels to within, 48-35. Inglewood would get no closer, as Kincade scored seven points during a 17-6 run that gave Dominguez a 65-41 lead with two minutes left."

Lower Bracket

Fresno Edison 69, Mayfair 50

Senior guard Willie Johnson scored a game-high 33 points and the Gladiators used a 23-11 fourth quarter to break the game open Thursday night as Fresno Edison defeated Mayfair, 69-50, in the Division II semifinals of the CIF Southern California Regionals State Playoffs at Fresno Edison High. We obviously weren't at this game, so we had to rely on several sources, and the Fresno Bee was the best. Here's what Terry Betterton wrote in today's Bee: "Doubleheaders may be a baseball tradition, but they are also big with the Edison High basketball teams. In their second state playoff doubleheader sweep of the week, both Edison teams advanced to the Southern Regional championship game with impressive victories Thursday night at the Edison gym.

"First, the girls broke away in the fourth quarter for a 57-44 decision over Foothill of Santa Ana. Then, the boys rallied in the second quarter and followed a 33-point performance by Willie Johnson for an overwhelming 69-50 victory over Mayfair of Lakewood. "We kind of like these doubleheaders," Tigers boys' coach Pat Riddlesprigger said. The Tigers have another one on Saturday at the Pyramid at Long Beach State, and the competition will be as good as it can get. The girls play nemesis Brea Olinda, ranked No. 2 in the state, at 6 p.m. The boys follow with an 8 p.m. game against the state's top-ranked team, Dominguez of Compton. At stake are berths in the state finals March 19 at Arco Arena in Sacramento. "We're looking forward to it," said junior center Chris Lopez, who scored 10 points with five rebounds for the Tigers. "We have the mentality that we can compete with anybody."

Johnson, Edison's career and single-season scoring leader, kept the Tigers in the game in the early going, scoring all nine of the Tigers' first-quarter points as Mayfair took a 15-9 lead. The Edison press took over midway through the second quarter, and the Tigers put balance in the offense to run away from the Monsoons. "We were kind of hesitant at the beginning and let Mayfair take the game to us," Riddlesprigger said. "But, as we've said all season, the best offense is a good defense. "The defense frustrated Mayfair and pumped us up." Fresno Edison took a 22-21 lead midway through the second quarter and never trailed again. The Gladiators' full-court press kicked in as they went on to outscore the Monsoons, 21-7, in the quarter. The Gladiators (28-7) advance to the Southern California Finals at 8 p.m. Saturday at the Pyramid, where they will face Dominguez, a 71-42 winner over Inglewood. Mayfair (27-7) was led by Jesus Miranda and Josh Childress, who each scored 14 points.