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SoCal High School & Prep Report

Pat McKinney: San Diego Section
Finals In All Divisions--(March 10, 1998)

As you know, Pat McKinney regularly writes about not only the USDHS Dons team, he also hosts the team's website at the USDHS Dons Basketball Website, and he also writes and reports on the entire San Diego Hoops scene, both for his site and for SoCalHoops. Pat has done a tremendous job all year, and going into the playoffs and the State Championship regionals, he's doing an even better job. Here's his report from this last Saturday reporting on all of the finals in the San Diego Section Championship games.

San Diego Hoop News
Finals for All Divisions

By Pat McKinney

Friday was truly an outstanding day for high school basketball in San Diego. The finals for all five boys' divisions were played on the same day, something San Diego has not seen in recent years. The venue was Cox Arena at Aztec Bowl on the San Diego State University campus, and it is truly a great arena. Hopefully, CIF will continue to use it despite the fact that RIMAC on UCSD's campus is probably more appropriate for the crowds in attendance. Another advantage to Cox is that the Division I, II, and III games were televised by Cox Cable. I watched the Division III, IV, and V games in person then came home to watch the balance on TV. The coverage was excellent and, if the teams get used to loooong TV timeouts, maybe the shooting will live up to expectations. In all, it was a big step forward in San Diego high school ball and hopefully a sign of good things to come.

Division V offered the biggest mismatch of the day, featuring Horizon at 24-2 and ranked #1 in the state Divsion V rankings and #2 in the County, against a surprising La Jolla Country Day team with a 15-13 record and a 7 seed. Horizon had already blown them out twice this season and they had no trouble making it three in a row. Horizon started this lineup:

Zack Jones, 5'11 Jr. PG
Jeremy Robinson, 5'10 Sr. G
Ray Harrington, 6'3 Sr. F
Detrick Watts, 6'2 Jr. F
Blake Jensen, 6'10 Sr. C

LJCD could not match up at all with this lineup:

Rashawn Allen, 5'11 Fr. G
Cesar DonJuan, 5'10 So. G
Matt Luckman, 6'1 So. F
Willie Weinberg, 6'2 Sr. F
Justin Middleton, 6'2 Jr. F

Horizon won a tap they played agressively on the offensive side and immediately went to scoring. The whole team jacked up threes at will and Jones was on fire, scoring 16 in the first half. I don't recall them ever running a set half-court offense, but there was no reason to. They went up 26-10 in the first and held a 42-19 halftime advantage. Allen scored 9 in the first half for LJCD, but they could not get much going.

The second half did not get any better for LJCD as Horizon kept running, scoring, and firing threes. I like the three point shot as much as the next guy, but it really started getting rediculous. Coach Zack Jones kept his starters in deep in to the fourth quarter as they really tried to run it up. They never stopped firing threes, making 10 for the game and outscoring LJCD 32-9 in the fourth. Zack Jones led all scorers with 23, as Detrick Watts added 15 and Ryan Fellows 10. Allen led LJCD with 9 and did not score in the second half. Horizon made a statement as they enter the regionals in this 92-36 rout.

Division IV. This figured to be a great game, featuring #1 seed Lincoln, 19-5 with Western League losses to only top-ranked USDHS, against Bishop's, 21-7 and seeded second with only two losses to Horizon in the Coastal League, the last a double overtime affair a couple of weeks ago. Lincoln got it going early, taking a 19-11 first quarter lead and threatening to run Bishop's out of the gym. Bishop's held tough in the second, however, going inside to Mike Hausmann and pulling to within 36-32 at the half.

The second half was all Bishop's, as they exploded for 43 second half points and allowed Lincoln only 27, including a 24-13 fourth quarter to spark them to a 75-63 win. Hausmann led Bishop's with 25 and made it to the line 17 times, converting on 11. Nick Booker added 22 in the win. Lincoln, which was top in So Cal in Division IV, was led by 21 from Anthony Watts and 20 from Rod Cooksey. Either of these teams could go the distance and will be dangerous in the regionals.

Division III. USDHS 48, St Augustine. Cold shooting for both teams as Luke Walton carried the Dons to victory with 27. Here's the full story.

Division II. Another outstanding match-up between 2nd seed Oceanside, 20-8 and tied for the Avocado League
championship, and #4 Point Loma, 3rd in the Eastern League at 18-8. Oceanside was 0-26 five years ago when Scott Ogden debuted as coach for the team, and were attempting to complete the turnaround in their first appearance in the finals in over 10 years. The game was back and forth in the first half and Oceanside forged a 31-28 halftime lead. Oside broke the game in the second half, however, as Matt Adame opened the third with a three pointer and completed a 7-0 run with two baskets inside for Carl Moore, giving Oceanside a 10 point advantage. Willie Maiden would hit another three a couple of minutes later to give Oceanside their biggest lead at 46-33. Point Loma would rally behind in the fourth quarterbehind Doug Croffet to pull it to 52-47. Pt Loma had the ball with 37 seconds left and missed a three, allowing Oceanside to hang on to a 54-49 win for the title. Adame led all scorers with 17 points and Justin Austin added 11. Croffet scored 16 tolead Point Loma.

Division I. Two great teams met in this one, but it was the team who excelled without their best player who carried the day. Helix came in to this one at 25-4 and seeded second with a Grossmont South title to its credit. Rancho Bernardo finished 3rd in the Palomar League with a 25-8 record and had struggled of late, falling from their #3 ranking in the County. They werecoming off a huge win over top seed and league rival Rancho Buena Vista in the semis. This game lived up to expectations as both teams gave all before one team finally overcame the other.

Rei Rivera entered this game for RB as the #3 scorer in section history and he was showing it with 13 in the first half. Despite that fact, Helix hung tough, keeping the game even at 32 at the half. With 1:36 left in the third, however, Rivera picked up his third foul and went to the sidelines wit Helix up 42-36. In the time he was gone, RB went on a 7-0 run including 5 straightpoints from 6'6 junior Billy Bloom to take a 43-42 lead. Rivera continued to struggle in the fourth, picking up his 4th foul with 5:12 left and going back to the bench. Floyd North nailed a three for Helix to give them a 47-45 lead. From that point, Helix couldn't get anything going and were outscored 13-5 down the stretch. Rivera came back to get some key rebounds and convert from the line to seal the title 58-52. Rivera led with 19 points and 14 boards while Bloom contributed 13. Ron Johnson led Helix with 15 and William Waggoner added 10. I would expect to see a more in-depth report Monday on the Helix website on Monday.