DII320.htm

SoCal High School & Prep Report

CIF State Championships: Division II Boys'
Game Preview--(March 20, 1998)

Southern California champion Santa Margarita vs. Northern California champion Montgomery
Friday 3/20 at ARCO Arena, 8:00 p.m.

Santa Margarita (31-2) vs. Santa Rosa Montgomery (26-7)

Santa Margarita High appears in its first state basketball final tonight as the state tournament championships start their two-day run at Sacramento's Arco Arena. The Eagles feature guard T.J. Williams and forward Ryan Forehan-Kelley, who are the team leaders, but Dekker McKeever and Jake Rohe have stepped into the spotlight in the playoffs. Rohe scored 10 of his team-high 16 points in the fourth quarter of a 60-50 regional final victory over Compton to send Santa Margarita to the final. McKeever has averaged 13 points and 11 rebounds in the playoffs and has been a strong defensive presence in the key.Guard T.J. Williams and forward Ryan Forehan-Kelley have been standouts for Santa Margarita all season, but it was Jake Rohe who scored 10 of his team-high 16 points in the fourth quarter of the regional final victory over Compton, the second time SM defeated Compton in two weeks, first in the Southern Section final, and then in the Regional State final. SM won it's third Southern Sectoin title in five seasons with the win over Compton. Carson Palmer (6'-5" Sr. F) is also a leader on the team, and he is a Student Sports magazine Grid-Hoop All-American quarterback as well. Carson has proven to be the teams best shooter at the moment.

Here's the full roster for Santa Margarita

Carson Palmer (6-5" Sr. F)
Al Jahroumi (5'-10" Sr. G)
Jake Rohe (6'-5" Sr. F)
T.J. Williams (6'-0" Sr. G)
Ryan Dwight (5'-10" Jr. G)
Steve Pearce (5'-8" Sr. G)
Craig Rice (6'-2" Sr. G)
Spencer Gloger (6'-4" Jr. G)
Steve Tashjian (5'-10" Sr. G)
Tim Rahall (6'-1" Jr. G)
Paul Restellt (6'-1" Sr. F)
Parker McMannes (6'-1" Sr. F)
Kelly Kramer (6'-5" Jr. F)
Grant Brown (6'-6" Sr. C)
Jeff Blackburn (6'-2" Jr. F)
Ryan Forehan-Kelly (6'-4" Sr. F)

We don't have the full roster for Montgomery (yet), but we do know that they upset Mountain View St. Francis, 63-57, to advance to the finals. The Vikings are led by 6'-4" senior Trevor Lorz, who scored seven of his 25 points in the final two minutes of the regional championship victory, beating Cinque Carey, considered by many to be one of the top players on the west coast.

We'll have more from Sacramento later tonight or tomorrow