IA227.htm

SoCal High School & Prep Report

Southern Section Playoffs: Tonight's
Division I-A Games--(February 27, 1998)

More games tonight. Again, these games, to the best of our knowledge, get started at 7:30 pm, in about an hour and a half from when we're posting this, so if you're going to get to one, you'd better start driving: It's Friday, and rush hour is on. These are all quarterfinal matchups, and we'd recommend that you get to one if you're nearby. Even if you're not, it'll be worth the drive:

Division I-A Quarterfinals

Region I--Glendora v. Valencia at College of the Canyons

Glendora is now 27-1 overall whwhile Valencia is one of three Foothill League teams to reach the quarterfinals. They did it with a 56-51 win at Santa Barbara Tuesday, overcoming a 10-point third quarter deficit. Glendora is led by Casey Jacobsen, who scored 55 points in the last outing. Valencia's spot in the Division I-A quarterfinals isn't too surprising. The Vikings, led by 6'-8" senior Jerrohn Jordan and 6'-7" senior Fabian Leon, are regarded as the most athletic team in the Foothill League and they defeated Don Lugo, 81-50, and Santa Barbara, 56-51, in the playoffs. The win over Don Lugo was Valencia's first playoff victory in three years of existence at the varsity level and the win at Santa Barbara gave a huge boost to the Vikings' confidence.

Region II--Canyon v. Pacific at Hart

Canyon (12-16) will play No. 2 Pacific (20-8) at Hart. Pacific is 20-8 and is seeded No. 2 in tghe division overall and won the San Andreas League. Pacific is led by Chaun Ballard, a 6'-3" junior shooting guard, Chris Smith, 5'-8" sophomore point guard, and Demond Huff, 6'-9" senior center. They will be a tough team for the tournament Cinderella, Canyon, which is hoping that midnight doesn't strike too soon. "I told the guys all year that if we got into the playoffs, good things could happen," Canyon Coach David Humphreys told the LA Times. "And I'm still telling them that. I keep telling them that no one thinks we should be here, but we are and we've got nothing to lose." Canyon might be the most surprising team left in the playoffs because the Cowboys finished sixth--and last--in league with a 2-8 record, six games back of first-place Hart, five behind second-place Valencia and four behind third-place Burroughs. Although Canyon lost five league games by eight points or less, Humphreys regarded the Cowboys as a "very, very, very long shot" to make the playoffs as an at-large entry. "I remember talking to the guys after the [final regular-season game against Burbank]," Humphreys said. "And I basically told them that I was happy with the effort they'd given, but that our season was over." But when the playoff pairings were announced three days later, Canyon was scheduled to play Mission League runner-up Loyola in a Division I-A opener. The Cowboys upset the Cubs, 58-55, in that game and then stunned Hart, 60-59, on Tuesday after losing to the Indians by two points and eight points during the regular season. "We couldn't get over the hump at the end of games," Humphreys said of Canyon's league record. "But we've been able to do that in the playoffs." Improved shooting has been a big reason. After hitting just 36% of its shots in league, Canyon is shooting 48% in the playoffs. "They've been relaxed." Humphreys said of his players. "And when you're relaxed, you shoot better."

Region III--Arlington v. Mater Dei at Ocean View

Mater Dei is having a surprising year. In a season where even coach Gary McKnight said that this was his most "beatable" team in memory, and which looked like he was right at the beginning of the season, Mater Dei has also been the most surprising team, beating some tremendously talented opponents, including a nationally ranked team in the Nike Extravaganza. Mater Dei is led by Mike Bayer (6'-7" Jr. F), Steve Scoggin (6'-1" So. PG) who is proving that he's truly MD material, and a couple of other kids who have stepped up well in Derrick Mansell (6'-0" Jr. SG) and Cedric Bozeman (6'-3" Fr. G). Arlington has Jimmy Miggins and Jesse Carlson two of the best 6'-4" shooters in SoCal. Arlington got here by beating North Torrance on Tuesday 73-57, while Mater Dei beat San Clemente 70-57 as Steve Scoggin scored 17 points. Mater Dei goes into this game 20-7, the losingest Mater Dei team record in 15 years, but with a chance to salvage a title.

Region IV--Garey v. J.W. North at Perris

Garey beat Cajon 65-63 to advance to this game, as Trey Cobb scored a game-high 25 points and Josh Long added 20 points including a game-winning six-foot bank shot as time expired to give the Vikings an upset of the No. 4 seed in the second round. Garey has center Darvin Means (6'-9" Sr C), Cobb, and Long as it's main scoring weapons. J.W. North beat Pasadena 62-56 in overtime on Tuesday to make it here. North has Nick Gosserand, (6'-10" Sr C) James Taylor (6'-5" Sr F), Matt Dickenson (6'-7" Sr F) and Raji Burnett (5'-7" So. PG). This will be a tough game for both teams, and the winner will match up against the winner of the Glendora Valencia game next.