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SoCal High School & Prep Report

Southern Section Playoffs: Division II-A
Dominguez Defeats Dos Pueblos 82-48--(March 4, 1998)

Dominguez has not lost a Southern Section playoff game since 1994 and has not lost a non-championship playoff game since 1992. They are defending state champions, twice in a row. And on Tuesday night, they proved that they're worthy of a trip back to the Divisional Finals, possibly to the Sectional Finals, and then on to the State Championship yet again.

Tuesday night's game was played at Compton College, and it was pretty much over even before it got started. In the first three minutes, the score was 15-0. The game started at 7:30 Tuesday night, and for all practical purposes it was finished by 7:35 pm.

Dominguez went on that 15-0 run in the first 3 minutes and 35 seconds of the game. The Dons (24-4) - who have not lost a postseason game in three years and will now make their sixth consecutive trip to the Southern Section championship game - had every imaginable advantage over the Chargers (24-5). In the last four playoff games, Dominguez has outscored its foes, 360-198.

Dominguez was faster, stronger, and bigger, not to mention more aggressive on defense, more accurate with their shooting, and better in the rebounding department, and with the putbacks for second-chance baskets. Plain and simple, they just outplayed Dos Pueblos.

And our trusty reporter, who had a bird's eye view (especially since this time he didn't get his eye poked out) would pretty much have to agree with this assessment. While Shantay Legans got universal praise from all who saw the game as "the man" or the go-to-guy, he had a different assessment of his team's effort in the game. Here's Shantay's own take on the game:

We sucked in the game. In the first quarter I had 3 points and Alex Jenkins had 3 points. In the second quarter I had 10 of our team 17. No one was making any baskets so I just tried to fire them up and carry them but it didn't work. In the third quarter I had 2 points - coach wanted me to pass it around not shoot and he took me out with a couple of minutes left in the third and wouldn't let me play in the 4th. In the 4th Dominguez had their bench in and so did we. I had 15 points total and no one else was in double figures on our team. Dominguez is a very good team. I won he battle of the PG's but needed help big time and the team just couldn't. Rockfish here I come. They had Tayshaun guarding me a few times and I took him sweet to the basket for a lay up. Dominguez should go all the way-they could beat some of these college teams. It SUCKS to lose

Legans

In the first quarter, during which Dominguez ran up a 24-6 lead, the Dons allowed Dos Pueblos just one basket, and didn't permit the Chargers to get on the scoreboard until exactly four minutes remained in the first quarter. After falling that far behind at the start, Dos Pueblos never got closer than within 13 points. The Dons were aided by a very even attack, with Walter Small who had 13 points, Tyson Chandler with 12 and Keith Kincade with 10, joining Prince in double figures. Prince - headed to the University of Kentucky - also had eight rebounds and five assists, and Chandler had seven rebounds and five blocked shots. Chandler, Small and Kincade were a combined 16 for 17 from the field. Four Dons finished in double figures and 14 players scored. Tayshaun Prince scored 17 points and had eight rebounds and five assists for Dominguez. Walter Small had 13 points, Tyson Chandler 12 and Keith Kincade 10 for Dominguez.

Tayshaun Prince (6'-8" Sr. PG/SG/SF/F/PF/C) who has signed with Kentucky, had 17 points, eight rebounds and five assists while playing less than three quarters. Tyson Chandler (7'-0" Fr C) had 12 points, seven rebounds and five blocked shots playing roughly the same amount of time. The Dons jumped out to a 15-0 lead and, though the Chargers hung around for most of the next two quarters, the game turned into a rout when Prince and Co. went on a 16-2 tear to finish the third quarter.

The Chargers were in for a long night, starting with their first two possessions. They worked the ball down low to center Dan Hoefer, who went up for reverse layups only have his shots rejected by Chandler. Chandler went on to block three shots in the first quarter and changed the arc on countless other shots. He looked, in fact, more like a college freshman than a high school freshman. Maybe NBA. As did Prince, the McDonald's All-American selection to this year's team, the selection to the US Men's Select team, who is bound for Kentucky next season.

Dos Pueblos, which won its second straight Channel League title under Sherman, finishes the season 25-5 and loses in the CIF semifinals on the road for the second straight season. Dominguez will play Redondo, a 55-53 winner over Muir, in the championship Saturday.