I-AA 221

SoCal High School & Prep Report

Southern Section Playoffs: All The Division
I-AA 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. Well, we managed to get all the scores, and all the highlights (well all but one game), and we even managed to remember that one of the games in the first round in this Division was rescheduled, and played on Thursday (Ayala v. Newport Harbor).

So here's what happened last night in I-AA 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-AA bracket, the No. 1 Seed is Artesia; No. 2 Long Beach Poly; No. 3. Etiwanda; and No. 4 Simi Valley. 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. A look, region by region, each game in order according to the bracketing:

Region I:

Game 1: # 1 Artesia 71, #8 Fountain Valley 42

Junior forward Jason Kapono recorded 20 points and 13 rebounds and senior guard James Murdock's inspired play in the second half helped the top-seeded Pioneers pull away from the visiting Barons (15-12) in a first-round game. The play of Murdock, who finished with 15 points and 10 assists, seemed to light a fire under Artesia (26-1), which showed the effects of not having played in a week and only led 34-24 at the half. Senior forward Jamal O'Quinn added 10 points for the Pioneers, who'll face El Toro (19-8) in a second-round game Tuesday night.

Game 2: #4 El Toro 59, #5 Warren 53

The Bears were outscored 16-8 in the third quarter and never recovered in a first-round loss to the host Chargers (19-8). Senior Ian Calvert scored 13 points and juniors Robert Borg and Branko Kovacic added 10 points apiece for Warren, which finished the season at 19-8. Mark Wulfemeyer (20 points) made a three-pointer with four seconds left to give El Toro (19-8) the lead going into the second half when the Chargers went on a 16-8 run in the third quarter. El Toro will play Artesia.

Game 3: #6 Oxnard 54, #3 Los Alamitos 52

Senior forward Jeff Fouchey's 17-foot jumper with three seconds left lifted the visiting Yellowjackets (17-8) to a surprising win over the Griffins (17-9). Senior guard Joel Haas (10 points) drilled a 3-pointer with 20 seconds left to tie the score at 52 for Los Alamitos. Forward Matt Komer added 13 points and 13 rebounds and center Jeff Grgas finished with 11 points and 11 rebounds for the Griffins. Fouchey had 16 points for Oxnard. Ray Hughes also scored 10 for Oxnard.

Game 4: #2 Eisenhower 72, #7 Ontario 58

The Eagles advanced past visiting Ontario, 72-58. Eisenhower, the Citrus Belt League co-champion, improved to 23-4 and moved on to Tuesday's second round, where it'll visit Oxnard, a 54-52 winner over Los Alamitos Friday. Eddings led the Eagles with 16 points, teammate Darius Davis added 15 and shooting guard Paul Jourdain scored 14. Eisenhower's vaunted press forced Ontario (17-8) into 10 first-quarter turnovers and the Eagles stretched their lead to 26-15 in the second quarter before the Jaguars made a run to close within 37-33 at halftime. Ontario coach Jerry Ronnebeck wished he could've made the adjustment of inserting starting center Chris Burns and key reserve Sidney Jones into the lineup. Burns didn't play because of disciplinary reasons (two missed practices, according to Ronnebeck) and Jones, suffering with a stretched Achilles' tendon, was at the doctor's office. Guard Mike Niles and swingman Juan Galaviz each scored 14 points to lead Ontario. By the third quarter, the toll taken by the two absentees was noticeable. The Jaguars committed seven more turnovers and Eisenhower increased its lead to 55-43 at the end of the third, eventually building to 63-46 on a Davis 3-pointer. The Eagles connected on 8 of 21 attempts from 3-point range.

Region II

Game 1: #1 Long Beach Poly 67, #8 Bell Gardens 43

Ricky Anderson and Shelton Diggs sat on the Poly High bench nursing ankle injuries. Mike McIntyre went to the bench in the final seconds of the first quarter with his third foul. But it didn't matter as Poly still pulled off the win. The Jackrabbits, with their three senior leaders watching from the bench, scored 20 of the first 22 points of the second quarter and led by as many as 32 points early in the fourth quarter. Poly's half-court trap created a turnover-fest and the Jackrabbits' superior size created problems on the few occasions Bell Gardens (13-14) drove to the basket. Jaison Waltower, a 6-foot-6 senior, came off the bench to block six shots and grab seven rebounds, both team highs, to go with 11 points. McIntyre, who had three of Poly's six 3-pointers, and point guard Wesley Stokes led the Jackrabbits with 13 points apiece. Stokes, a 5-8 sophomore point guard, also had four assists and six steals. Poly (22-6), seeded No. 2 behind Artesia, will have Anderson and Diggs back in the lineup Tuesday in a second-round game against Leuzinger - 59-48 winner over Century.

Game 2: #4 Lawndale Leuzinger 57, #5 Century 48

Century came within five with two minutes left but Leuzinger (17-8) sealed the victory by making three of four free throws in the last minute. Mike Zepeda scored 18 for Century (19-8).

Game 3: #3 Capistrano Valley 66, #6 Upland 55

Upland took a 5-0 lead to open the game, but Capistrano Valley answered with a 17-5 run. Mike Stowell scored 21 points and had 11 rebounds for Capistrano Valley (19-8). The Cougars will play Chino Hills Ayala in the second round.

Game 4: # 2 Ayala 58, #7 Newport Harbor 42

This Game was actually played Thursday due to scheduling of wrestling playoffs at Ayala

Newport Harbor fell behind early and lost to Chino Hills Ayala, 58-42, in a Southern Section Division I-AA boys' basketball playoff game Thursday at Ayala. With his best player injured, Ayala High School boys basketball coach Tom Gregory didn't like his team's chances Thursday night. But the Bulldogs surprised their coach, and Newport Beach Newport Harbor, dominating the Sailors. The Sailors (18-9) trailed by 10 after the first quarter, made the first basket of the second, then never got within 10 points the rest of the way. Newport Harbor shot less than 30% and made only 16 of 31 free throws. Dustin Illingsworth had nine points and five rebounds and Matt Jameson had eight points and seven rebounds for Newport Harbor. Sophomore point guard Chasen Jones scored a game-high 17 points and passed off for five assists to lead the Bulldogs (21-6) into the second round. They'll face Mission Viejo Capistrano Valley on Tuesday. Jack May (6'-7" Jr. F) who leads Ayala in scoring (15.0 points per game) and rebounding (10.0), thinks his sprained right ankle will be healed in time to play Tuesday. In May's absence, four Bulldogs grabbed six or more rebounds. Shane Unrein and Daniel Sherman had eight apiece, Ian Muldrew had seven and A.T. Simmons added six. Unrein was also a big factor in a strong start by the Bulldogs, scoring 12 of his 13 points in the first half to help stake Ayala to a 35-20 lead. Jones made sure the Bulldogs kept the lead, scoring eight second-half points, including making 6-of-7 free throws to complete a 9-of-10 effort at the line. Free throws were significant. Both teams made 16 but Newport Harbor had 31 attempts to Ayala's 24. Ayala never trailed, scoring the first six points and taking a 19-9 lead after one quarter. The Sailors (18-9) never got closer than 10 points in the second half. They came within 46-36 on a steal and layup by Alan Limon with 5:56 to play. But after Ayala's Marcel Burke made 1-of-2 free throws, Jones snuck backdoor, took a pass from Unrein, scored and was fouled. His free throw gave the Bulldogs a 50-36 lead with 5:03 to play.

Region III

Game 1: #1 Etiwanda 96, #8 Channel Islands 72

Gary Colbert scored 18 points and passed out 10 assists as the third-seeded Eagles (21-6) used their height advantage against Raiders (18-7) in a Division 1AA first-round game. Corey Landrum added 16 points while Rudy Simpson scored 11 for the Eagles, who enjoyed a 35-15 margin on the boards. Etiwanda held a 54-31 lead at halftime and were up 74-46 after three quarters.

Game 2: #5 Redlands 81, #4 Canyon Springs 72

Unbelievably, we couldn't find any details on this game, the only one in Southern Section 1-AA that we couldn't find anything on other than a line score. Oh well, a score is better than nothing.

Game 3: #3 Rancho Cucamonga 83, #6 Victor Valley 80

Derrick Andrews' free throw with a minute remaining put the Cougars (21-6) ahead to stay and Darryl Pittman added two free throws with 4.6 seconds left to ice a 1AA Division playoff win over the Jackrabbits (16-10) at Rancho Cucamonga. Chris Spencer scored 20 points - eight during a 32-point second quarter for the Cougars - and pulled down 15 rebounds. Donnie Furnald added 19 points with 15 rebounds and Pittman 10 points and 10 assists in the win. For Victor Valley, Jamillian Momon had a game-high 22 points and Rashaun Thomas 19 points.

Game 4: #2 Fontana 74, # 7 Schurr 64

The Steelers (21-6) endured a fourth-quarter run by the Spartans (11-11) to win a Division I-AA game. Fontana led by as many as 18 points in the third quarter before Schurr cut it down to seven. Glen Summerall paced the Steelers with 13 while Mike Judkins and Charles Moffett each added 10. Gary Holmes had 13 rebounds to lead Fontana.

Region IV

Game 1: #1 Simi Valley 74, #8 Santa Maria 62

Rafael Berumen scored 26 points to lead Simi Valley High to a 74-62 victory over Santa Maria in a Southern Section Division I-AA first-round boys' basketball playoff game Friday night at Simi Valley. The Pioneers (23-5), who are ranked No. 4 in The Times' regional poll, outscored Santa Maria, 23-6, in the second quarter to take a 40-21 halftime lead. Branduinn Fullove had 13 points and seven assists, and Ian Boys scored 11 points for Simi Valley.

Game 2: #4 Long Beach Jordan 88, #5 Rowland 64

Darren Peterson scored 31 points Friday night to lead Jordan High to a 88-64 CIF Southern Section I-AA first round victory over visiting Rowland. Peterson was sizzling in the first half, scoring 10 first-quarter points and 23 before intermission, against the Sierra League tri-champion Raiders (19-7). That effort helped Jordan (17-11) take a 41-33 lead into halftime. Rowland guard Julius Barnes scored five points in the final 14 seconds of the half. Barnes finished with 25 points, but, largely due to the defense of Mike Newton, was ineffective in the third quarter, missing all four of his shots from the field and making only two free throws. It was in the third quarter that Jordan finally took command. Craig Calloway took charge after halftime, leading the Panthers as they outscored Rowland, 23-9. A 9-0 run midway through the quarter, on a layup by Travon Bryant, a 3-pointer and fastbreak layin by Calloway, and a steal and bucket by Eric Gathrite, pushed the lead to a very comfortable 58-40. Rowland never got closer than 16 points the rest of the way and Jordan coach Ron Massey was able to go deep into his bench. With the win, Jordan moves into Tuesday's second round against No. 4 seed Simi Valley. Calloway scored 11 of his 20 points in the second half and grabbed 11 rebounds overall. Peterson made 12 of 21 shots from the field and 4 of 7 from the free-throw line, brought down 11 rebounds and grabbed four steals. Gathrite came off the bench to chip in 13 points and Mike Matangi (three points, six assists) played a solid game at point guard. Rowland's E.J. Arkliss, a 6-foot-4, 220-pounder, hurt Jordan in the first half, consistently muscling inside. But Bryant, a 6-6 sophomore, shut Arkliss down in the second half, finishing with seven blocked shots to go along with eight points and eight rebounds.

Game 3: #3 Diamond Bar 79, #6 Palmdale 76 (OT)

Kerry Yates scored 29 points for Palmdale (15-11) in an overtime game at Diamond Bar. With Palmdale trailing, 77-74, with 12 seconds remaining in overtime, Yates was fouled behind the three-point arc by Brian Pichon. Yates made the second and third free throws to cut the deficit to one. Brad Wright, who scored 25 points, made two free throws for Diamond Bar (23-4) with seven seconds left. Palmdale failed to get off a shot in the waning seconds. Palmdale's Eric Brown, who scored 15 points, sent the game into overtime by blocking Pichon's layup attempt with two seconds left in regulation. Aaron Winchester scored 20 points for Palmdale. Brian Pichon finished with 19 points and six assists. Wright finished with 25 points and Jason Arnold added 11 points and 10 rebounds for the Brahmas.

Game 4: #2 Bellflower 77, #7 Peninsula 57

Senior forward Isaac Brooks slithered inside for a game-high 27 points and 13 rebounds as the Buccaneers (22-5) had little trouble in dispatching the Panthers (17-9) in the first round. Bellflower's defensive intensity stifled Peninsula early on and helped the Bucs take a 21-7 lead after a quarter of play. Seniors Cedric Lusk and Armando Orejel contributed 13 points apiece and junior Marcus Harvey tossed in 12 points for Bellflower, which advances to play Diamond Bar (23-4) in Tuesday's second round.