I-A 221

SoCal High School & Prep Report

Southern Section Playoffs: All The Division
I-A Scores & Highlights--(February 21, 1998)

We've delayed putting this up as long as we possibly could so that we'd have most, if not all of the scores and highlights. We managed to get most of the scores (actually all of them) and most of the highlights, except those played in the Riverside County area, or involving teams from the Riverside area; the news travels awfully slowly from out there, but we'll keep looking and if something turns up, we'll update the stuff here.

So here's what happened last night in I-A Southern Section Playoff action. The #'s refer only to a teams seeding within it's own Regional Bracket within the Division. Overall in the Division I-A bracket, the No. 1 Seed is Glendora; No. 2 Pacific; No. 3.Arlington; and No. 4 Cajon, and all of the top seeds won their games, and most of the other higher rated teams in each Region also won, with a couple of minor exceptions, such as Dana Hills a number 4 seed which lost to a number 5 seeded Edison. A look, region by region, at each game in order according to the bracketing:

Region I

Game 1: # 1 Glendora 101, #8 Azusa Mark Keppel 55

Casey Jacobsen led all scorers with 47 points to lead Glendora (26-1) to a first round victory over Mark Keppel. Chris Clark also had 19 points for Glendora. Keppel finished the season at 11-4. Jacobsen scored a record 11 three pointers and finished with 47 in a complete rout of Keppel. Jacobsen also shot 18 for 30 from the field and broke the school record with 7:42 remaining in the game. Keppel, with only one player over six feet tall, was overmatched the entire game. Guards David Su and Vi Ly led Keppel's scoring with 10 each.

Game 2: #4 Murrietta Valley 69, #5 San Gorgonio 61

No details, just a score

Game 3: #3 Valencia 81, #6 Don Lugo 50

Jerrohn Jordan had 37 points and 12 rebounds for Valencia (21-6), which won its first playoff game in school history. Fabian Leon had 12 points and 14 rebounds for the Vikings. Don Lugo finishes the season at 11-15. Scott Martinez scored 12 and Matt Hinojosa added 10 for Don Lugo.

Game 4: #2 Santa Barbara 74, #7 Arroyo 44

Junior Tony Freeman, converted to point guard in the last two weeks, led the way for the Dons with nine points, nine assists and just one turnover. Tyler Burke came off the bench to lead Santa Barbara with 15 points, including 3-pointers when Arroyo went to a zone. Sean Kelley had a double-double with 11 points and 14 rebounds - 11 in the first half against only 13 by Arroyo's whole team. Sophomore Brent Williams added 10 points. Santa Barbara, 17-10, will play Tuesday against either Valencia (coin flip) or at Don Lugo. Arroyo finishes 10-15. For Arroyo the scorers were Dungja 2, Porro 2, Sanchez 1, Smith 15, Ding Ley 2, Lam 5, Raza 2, Moreno 4, Martinez 5, and Gomez 6. Santa Barbara was led by Thompson 3, Maloney 8, Burke 15, Freeman 9, Williams 10, Christ 3, Allen 7, Kelley 11, Nagelmann 3, Gibbs 4, and Cordero-Rabe 1.

Region II

Game 1: # 1 Pacific 73, #8 Cerritos 50

Again, no details, just a score.

Game 2: #5 Edison 49, #4 Dana Hills 47

Jeff Harrell made a jump shot with two seconds left for Edison (13-13). Zack Killiak had 16 points and teammate Daniel Nehrig had 13 points for the Chargers. Tim McKee scored 17 points for Dana Hills (13-14). Edison will play San Bernardino Pacific in the second round.

Game 3: #6 Canyon 58, #3 Loyola 55

Senior guard Mike Rearson scored 14 points and Jimmy Cox added 123 points as the visting Cowboys upset the Cubs. Everett Bryson (6'-4" Jr. F) scored 5 points and grabbed a game high 10 boards for Canyone with is now 11-16 overall, and will play Hart in a second round game this week.

Game 4: #2 Hart 64, #8 St. John Bosco 55

The host Indians (18-9) took control of the contest with a 10-3 run in the third quarter and the Braves (12-15) never got closer than 10 points until the final minute. Justin Trott scored 12 points and Larry Demic had 10 points to lead St. John Bosco. Jerry Owens finished with 18 points and J.T. Stotts, who had 42 points in his last game, added 17 for Hart. For just the third time this season, senior guard J.T. Stotts did not lead the Hart High boys' basketball team in scoring. But Jerry Owens stepped up for Hart, which coasted to a 64-55 victory over St. John Bosco on Friday night in a Southern Section Division I-A first-round playoff game at Hart. Stotts, who had 42 points against Valencia in the regular-season finale, had 17 points and six assists, and Jeff Whitmore added 10 points for the Indians (18-9). Nine players scored for Hart, which made seven of 12 three-point shots. By contrast, St. John Bosco (12-15) connected on just two of 11 three-point shots. With the scored tied, 5-5, Owens and Stotts hit consecutive three-point shots, igniting an 8-0 run. The Indians used another 8-0 run midway through the third quarter to build a 40-27 lead. The Braves closed to within 53-44 with 4:57 left, but David Neill's three-point basket gave the Indians their biggest lead, 58-44, with under three minutes left. The Indians contained senior guard Justin Trott, who came into the game averaging 20 points. Trott was whistled for his fifth personal foul after hand-checking Stotts with 1:51 remaining in the game. Trott finished with 12 points. Hart will play at Foothill League rival Canyon, which it has beaten twice, Tuesday night in the second round.

Region III

Game 1: # 1 Arlington 83, #8 Calexico 59

Game 2: #4 North Torrance 78, #5 Corona 72 (OT)

Game 3: # 6 San Clemente 74, #3 University 71

Although University endured a horrendous shooting night, San Clemente still didn't escape with its 74-71 victory until Eric Palmer's three-point shot bounced off the rim at the buzzer. San Clemente sophomore Brian George, promoted from the junior varsity for the playoffs, provided a boost, tallying 16 points and 10 rebounds, in the Southern Section Division I-A first-round boys' basketball playoff game Friday at University High. Mitch Pierce, filling in for injured starting point guard Oscar Montecinos (broken foot), scored 17 points and Semaj Johnson had 16 for San Clemente (13-13), which advanced to the second round and will host Mater Dei, a 69-44 winner over La Verne Damien, Tuesday. University (15-10) couldn't extend its season after struggling against San Clemente's 3-2 trapping zone. The Trojans never found their rhythm, making 30% (20 of 67) from the field and only 16% (four of 25) from three-point range. They also committed 22 turnovers. Palmer, who averages 23 points, finished with 17 but made only two of 14 from the field. He made 11 of 15 free throws. Sharpshooting teammate Jeff Groendal also had an off-night, making only one of 10 shots for four points. The pair made 144 three-pointers during the regular season. But Friday, they made only three of 17. Despite the ragged play--the teams combined for 67 free throws and 42 turnovers--University still had its chances in the final minutes. Senior reserve Justin Hunt (18 points, nine rebounds) helped pull University within two, 69-67, with a minute to play. But Palmer lost the ball on the next possession after penetrating. Thirty seconds later after Johnson made one of two free throws Palmer got a good look at a three-pointer but missed. And his last potential tying shot was set up by a rare call. After two free throws by George made San Clemente's lead 74-69 Johnson stole the ball and went in for a dunk and an exclamation point on the victory. However, his dunk attempt missed and he was whistled for a technical foul for hanging on the rim. Palmer sank the two foul shots with three seconds remaining, but his final shot fell short.

Game 4: # 2 Santa Ana Mater Dei 69, #7 Damien 44

Sparked by a 9-0 run to start the game and a similar run at the start of the third quarter, the Monarchs were never headed against the Spartans (9-19) in a Division I-A first-round game. Robert Tobin scored 11 to lead Damien while Sam Roy added 10. Mike Bayer led all scorers as he hit 18 for Mater Dei, while Derrick Mansell added 16 and Steve Scoggin 15.

Region IV

Game 1: #1 Cajon 62, #8 La Sierra 61

We didn't get the details of this one, but Cajon will advance to play #4 Garey in the second round.

Game 2: #4 Garey 84, #5 Palm Springs 62

After a sluggish first half, the Vikings (18-9) used a 29-13 third quarter margin to win a Division 1A blowout over the Indians (10-13). Jesse Terrones (26 points) had three of his eight 3-pointers in the third quarter and Bobby
Ward added eight of his 22 in the quarter. Darvin Means had eight points and 13 rebounds for Palm Springs.

Game 3: #3 Pasadena 81, #6 Quartz Hill 67

Shawn Lett scored 18 points and Russell Garcia added 17 points for Quartz Hill (15-12), who were outscored, 30-18, in the first quarter in a game at Pasadena (17-11). Quartz Hill's Jason Tomlin added 14 points. Pasadena dominated the first quarter, going on a 10-0 run in the first minute and a half. But the Rebels made a second-half comeback and almost pulled even before Pasadena put the game away. Kivin Richards scored 18 points for the Pasadena Bulldogs, as well has grabbing 14 boards. Clayton Coleman had 14 points and 5 boards. Pasadena will play next on Tuesday in the second round against J.W. North

Game 4: #2 J.W. North 78, #7 Corona Centennial 73 (OT)

Once again no details, just a score.