DIV312.htm

SoCal High School & Prep Report

CIF State Playoffs: Southern Region
Division IV Semifinal Previews--(March 12, 1998)

Game 1:
San Diego Lincoln Academy (20-6) v. Los Angeles Verbum Dei (20-5)
At Verbum Dei High School, 7:30 p.m.

Game 2:
Corcoran (26-5) v. La Jolla The Bishop's School (24-7),
At La Jolla The Bishop's School, 7:30 p.m.

Division IV Semifinal Previews

Game 1:
Who: San Diego Lincoln Academy (20-6) v. Los Angeles Verbum Dei (20-5)
Where: Los Angeles Verbum Dei, 7:30 p.m.

Lincoln finished as the runner-up in the San Diego CIF finals, losing to Bishop's 75-63. Lincoln, which was top in San Diego's Division IV all season, was led by 21 from Anthony Watts and 20 from Rod Cooksey. Lincoln was the Western League runner-up during regular season play. Tre Henderson can also be a dangerous scorer as well, and in the San Diego semifinal game against Coronado, Tre scored 12 points. Lincoln was the top rated offensive team in all of San Diego, with a 77.0 rating on a scale devised by the Union Tribune (at least that's my memory for it), and they were not among the top 10 rated defensive teams, which may not really mean much. Lincoln finished the regular season at Lincoln 18-5, and was ranked No. 6 at the end of the year by the Union Tribune. Look for them to be very dangerous.

Verbum Dei, on the other hand, the once mighty and forgotten power for the last few years is coming back and they're doing it in a big way. They've already knocked off Crossroads, beating them convincingly by 10 points, 82-72 in the Southern Section semifinals, and then they beat Gardena Serra to win the CIF-SS Championship, in a game which saw Marlon Parmer (6'-1" Jr. PG) score 34 points. The team features other solid players in Dalron Johnson (6'-8"Jr F/C), Larry Davenport (6'-4" Jr F), and Washum Dashiell (6'-3" Jr SG/SF), all of whom score in double figures. The others who will see time will include Robert Watkins (6'-1" So SG) up from the JV, Eric Moses (5'-8" Sr PG), Rashawd Cobbs (5'-11" Jr PG), Lawrence Diggs(6'-2" Jr SG), Cedric White (6'-3" Jr F), Beck Drummond (6'-4" Jr PF), Earl Shuford (6'-4" Jr F/C), and Ricardo Suazo (6'-5" Jr F).

Look for this to be a great offensive battle of two very strong, very tall teams. The game is supposed to be at Verbum, but if it's not, don't blame us (see our "caveat" applicable to all these games).

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Division IV Semifinal Previews

Game 2:
Who: Corcoran (26-5) v. La Jolla The Bishop's School (24-7),
Where: La Jolla The Bishop's School, 7:30 p.m.

Ok, this is one of those games for which we specifically included our "caveat" about checking game sites and locations. In addition to discovering that the Fresno Bee is, after all this time, really online, we learned from their site that those folks traveling from Corcoran up in the Central Valley, will be going to St. Bernard's in Playa del Rey for a game at 6:00 p.m. tonight. But if you live in Los Angeles, and read the LA Times, you'll be going to La Jolla The Bishop's School for a game at 7:30 p.m. Oh well, if you get to Playa Del Rey at 6:00 and there's no game, you should be able to make it to La Jolla in about an hour and a half, even in rush hour traffic.

What we do know is that Corcoran is 27-5 coming into this game, and they beat Gardena Serra 66-61 in the first round for a school-record 27th victory, the team's 14th straight. We also know that Corcoran was Ranked No. 8 in Division IV according to the Fresno Bee, and presumably that ranking is from the CIF coaches' poll. Corcoran is led by guard Jimmy Whitfield, who scored 18 points Tuesday against Serra, Luther Coleman, who had 20 points, and Carl Roux who had 11. We're still searching for more information, and when we get it we'll put it up.

We know even less about Bishop's. They are 24-7 coming into this game, and on Tuesday in the first round quarterfinal game they beat Calvary Chapel Santa Ana 63-58. The Bishop's was ranked No. 4 in Division IV, so that must mean they're better, right? We'll find out at the end of the game. The Knights feature Mike Hausmann, a 6'-7" forward and an All-San Diego Section water polo player, and Nik Booker, a 6'-5" forward. Hausmann finished Tuesday with 21 points and nine rebounds. Booker had 19 points and 13 rebounds. Not bad.