DV312.htm

SoCal High School & Prep Report

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

Game 1:
Santa Clara (15-13) v. San Diego Horizon (25-2),
At San Diego Horizon, 7:30 p.m.

Game 2:
Palos Verdes Estates Rolling Hills Prep (21-7) vs. Los Angeles Pacific Hills (24-8)
At L.A. Daniel Murphy HS, 7:30 p.m.

Division V Semifinal Previews

Game 1:
Who: Santa Clara (15-13) v. San Diego Horizon (25-2),
Where: San Diego Horizon, 7:30 p.m.

Beating top-seeded Horizon could prove to be too tough for relatively tiny Santa Clara, which is seeded fifth in the tournament. The frontline for the Horizon Panthers, ranked second among San Diego Section teams behind University all season, features: Blake Jensen (6'-11" Sr. C) Trevor Jensen (6'-7" Jr. PF) Chris Monroe (6'-8" So. F). Horizon, the state Division V runner-up last season, won the San Diego Section Division V championship last week and routed Laguna Blanca, 91-28, in the first round of the state playoffs. Horizon also features Detrick Watts, the son of former NBA player Slick Watts. Horizon finished the regular season at 14-0 and 23-2 in the San Diego Coastal League, ahead of La Jolla Bishop's which finished at 12-2 in league and 21-7 overall. That's the same Bishop's which is facing Corcoran in the Division IV Regional Semi tonight.

On the other hand, Southern Section Division V-AA runner-up Santa Clara has nobody taller than 6'-3", and so will have to depend on speed and quickness rather than size. But they've got plenty of that, and aided by the return of previously injured swingman Nick Jones (6'-3" Jr. SG/SF), the Saints have played well in the last few game. Jones and B.J. Ward (6'-3" Jr. G) have combined for 109 points in the Saints' past two games. Whether that will be enough to combat the height, power and sheer size of the Horizon crew is something only time will tell.

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Division V Semifinal Previews

Game 2:
Who: Palos Verdes Estates Rolling Hills Prep (21-7) vs. Los Angeles Pacific Hills (24-8)
Where: L.A. Daniel Murphy HS, 7:30 p.m.

We don't know a heck of a lot about either of these teams, and you're probably tired of hearing us say this. We know that Pacific Hills feature Ryan Abrahams at guard, star Conrad Adamczak at forward, , and Brandon Owens and Charles Pagan at the other wing spots. They also feature Rodney Harry, Pacific's 6'-5" enforcer in the middle. Palos Verdes Rolling Hills Prep comes to this game at 21-7 on the year, and on Tuesday they beat Cambria Coast Union 55-53. In that one sophomore forward Jason Zellers scored 18 points for the Huskies, and BJ Hart had 14 points and Kai Edwards scored nine.

Oh, and we got this e-mail from Anne Ibarra, who obviously has a lot more information about PH than we do. So rather than continue to plead ignorance, we'll admit that we're getting more and more familiar with this team day by day. Here's Anna's letter:

Pacific Hills (25-7)[???--The Times has them at 24-8, see above] opened up the State playoff with a 90-49 win over La Jolla Country Day. The Bruins had 14 players score as they prepared to face the V-A champion Rolling Hills Prep (27-3) [huh??? again, the record from the Times is 21-7, but who are we to quibble?]. Pacific Hills defeated the Huskies in January 75-70. Coach John Bobich of Pacific Hills and Husky's coach Brian Kneegan have been instrumental in building two of the more respected programs in the CIF. Rolling Hills had many impressive wins this season including a victory over Serra of Gardena while Pacific Hills knocked off division III-A finalist Bishop Montgomery along with several other upper division teams (Marina, Leuzinger, West Torrance and South Gate). Pacific Hills will be looking to reach the Southern California Regional final for the second time in past five seasons. The Bruins captured the So.Cal. Regional final in the State Tourney in 1994.

Other interesting fact about the RHP/Pac Hills game: Coach Bobich and Coach Kneegan have been close friends since Kneegan was coach at Campbell Hall in the Delphic League. The coaches also run a pair of exclusive basketball camps during the summer; they share jabs about who has the better program. The Bruins knocked Rolling Hills out of the playoffs last season with a last minute rally and a 77-74 win. Quote From Coach Bobich: " It will be another battle for these two Division V schools. I feel both schools have proven that Division V schools can compete with many of the big boys."

Thanks for the information Anna. We may not agree with all of it, but as we wrote earlier, if you send the info, we'd post it up. Don't you feel better now? We know we do.