IAA225.

SoCal High School & Prep Report

Southern Section Playoffs: Division I-AA
Second Round--(February 25, 1998)

Ok, you all know the drill. Here are the scores and highlights for the second round games in Divisioon I-AA which were all played last night. No really big upsets here. Artesia continues to roll; Eisenhower handled Oxnard; Capistrano Valley and Long Beach Poly both won and will face off in the quarterfinals Friday, while Etiwanda and Fontana will face off in Region III. In Region IV, Simi will meet Bellflower.

Region I

Game 1: Artesia 66, El Toro 46

Jason Kapono scored 37 points for top-seeded Lakewood Artesia (24-1). Jason Richards had 12 points and six assists for host El Toro (19-9). Kapono was just unstoppable and also pulled down 12 boards. El Toro guard Mark Wulfemeyer entered the game scoring well over 2- points per game, but was held to just seven points because of the great defensive effort by Willie Alford. Artesia made 25 of 28 free throws, and Kapono sank all nine of his shots from the line in the fourth quarter and finished 12 for 15 from the line. Artesia will battle Eisenhower in Friday's quarterfinals.

Game 2: Eisenhower 90, Oxnard 76

Trenell Eddings scored a triple-double of 27 points, 11 rebounds and 14 assists to lead the Eagles into the quarterfinals of the CIF Division 1AA playoffs. Eisenhower advances to play top-seeded Artesia in the next round Friday at an alternate site to be determined by coin flip.

The Oxnard High boys basketball team shot 55.5 percent from the field Tuesday night; Rialto-Eisenhower, shot just 40.2 percent. In rebounding, the Yellowjackets again were the leaders, taking a 35-29 edge over the smaller visitors. But there's more than shooting and rebounding as Oxnard discovered. Until 3:52 left in the game the score was close, in fact it was tied 73-73. but in the final minutes Oxnard succumbed to a 17-3 Eisenhower run and lost the game. Until that final 3:52, there had been nine lead changes and six tied scores. Oxnard (17-9) was denied its first 18-win season since 1972 and Eisenhower (24-4), a Citrus Belt League co-champion, headed into the quarterfinals. Last year, Eisenhower went 26-5, losing in the semifinals. Six Eisenhower players hit threes, most notably senior forward Darius Davis who was 7 for 16 and ended with 23 points, hitting 3 of 7 three-pointers and sinking a two-pointer for 11 points. Trenell Eddings was 2 for 6 from three point range and led all scorers with 27 points. He was 6 for 10 on 2-pointers and 9 of 10 from the line. Junior guard Damian Tafoya (3 for 8 on three-pointers) led Oxnard with 25 points and senior forward Jeff Fouchey ended his high school career with a season-high 24 points. Eric Fong added 11 points for Oxnard and Koeppel Hall added 13 for Eisenhower. The teams combined for 54 three-point shots and 42 two-point shots.

Region II

Game 1: Capistrano Valley 61, Ayala 55

Mike Stowell scored 22 points, making eight of 14 from the field, for host Capistrano Valley (20-8). The Cougars will play Long Beach Poly, a 77-72 winner over Lawndale Leuzinger. Jermaine McDaniel added 13 points for the Cougars. Chasen Jones scored 26 points for Ayala (21-7).

Game 2: Long Beach Poly 77, Leuzinger 72

Poly High basketball coach Ron Palmer was a bit worried as Ricky Anderson limped out of Leuzinger's (17-9) gym Wednesday night following Poly's win. But at least the Jackrabbits are still in it, and will face Capistrano Valley Friday night in the quarterfinals.

Poly almost lost, but the No. 2 seeded and defending champion Jackrabbits came back from an 11-point third-quarter deficit and received huge baskets from Mike Mc Intyre, Keyon Cooley and Shea Anderson in the the final moments to pull out a 77-72 win. Leuzinger built a 50-39 lead with just more than four minutes to go in the third period behind the outside shooting of Robert Harris who finished with 21 points and Ron Perodin who had 13, and the hustle inside of 6-foot-4 Joe Hook who had 15 points, and 11 rebounds. Poly (24-6) was reeling at that point with Ricky Anderson not close to full strength and point guard Wesley Stokes fighting foul trouble. The Jackrabbits patiently whittled away at the lead and eventually took over, at 60-59, off an 8-0 run, concluding with McIntyre's 3-pointer from the left corner. After a Steve Turner free throw, McIntyre, who finished with 20 points, hit another 3-pointer, giving Poly a 63-60 advantage. The lead grew to five points when Cooley, who finished the night with 18 points, six rebounds, and two blocked shots, hit an eight-foot jumper. Leuzinger countered with a jumper by Hook with 1:52 to play, and Ricky Anderson had 11 points, three rebounds and three blocked shots. Thanks to Turner, who threw in a trio of 3-pointers in the final 1:16, Leuzinger wouldn't go away. But Cooley had a huge 3-pointer, Schea Anderson, who had 12 points, and five rebounds on the night, followed Cooley's next miss with a put-back basket and made a free throw, and Shelton Diggs hit four free throws as Poly held on for the win.

Region III

Game 1: Etiwanda 79, Redlands 50

Gary Colbert scored 22 points and two runs in the second and third quarters helped Etiwanda blow out Redlands 79-50 in a CIF Division 1AA second round game at Redlands. Etiwanda (22-6), seeded No. 3, will host Fontana Friday at A.B. Miller High School. The Eagles scored the first 10 points of the second quarter, part of a 12-3 run to take a 27-17 lead. Then, Etiwanda went on a 16-2 run from late in the second quarter to early in the third to go up 43-24.

Game 2: Fontana 101, Rancho Cucamonga 85

Until someone finds an answer for Glen Summerall, Fontana's playoff run isn't going to stop. Summerall, the senior forward, connected on his first three shots, controlled the paint with a game-high 21 rebounds and finished with 31 points as the Steelers buried Rancho Cucamonga Tuesday 101-85 in a CIF Division 1AA second-round contest. Fontana never trailed by less than 10 points in the second half. The Steelers (22-6) have won seven straight games and will meet 1997 1AA runner-up Etiwanda Friday at A.B. Miller. That makes for a dynamic showcase for Etiwanda point guard Gary Colbert, who started the season as an Inland Valley player of the year candidate, and Summerall, who has played his way into contention.

Steeler point guard Baron Baker contributed 17 points and Derrick Benjamin added 15 for Fontana, which connected on 8 of 10 3-pointers in the first half and outrebounded the Cougars,
44-24. Rancho Cucamonga (21-7) received 26 points from Jamaal Gray, but was outscored 28-19 in the second quarter and fell behind, 71-49, late in the third. The six-year-old Cougar program has yet to advance to the quarterfinals, losing three times in the second round.

Region IV

Game 1: Simi Valley 77, Long Beach Jordan 70

This was the first victory for Simi Valley over a Moore League opponent in postseason and sends the fourth-seeded Pioneers into Friday's quarterfinals for the second successive season. Branduinn Fullove started well and never slowed down, scoring a game-high 29 points. Rafael Berumen finished with 21 points and 7 assists and Brett Michel collected 17 points and 6 rebounds for Simi Valley. With the victory, Simi Valley improves to 24-5, and will play against Bellflower, a 71-69 winner in overtime over Diamond Bar, in the quarterfinals. Long Beach Jordan (17-12) was led by Darren Peterson with 18 points. With either Jordan or Long Beach Poly eliminating Simi Valley the last four postseasons, it figured that the win would not come without a challenge. Down by 18 in the first half, the quick Panthers cut the lead to 4 on four occasions in the second half, including 58-54 with just under six minutes left in the game. But Fullove, Berumen and Michel started a 13-6 spurt that finished off Jordan. Simi Valley started out in command, overpowering Jordan inside for a 12-4 lead midway through the first period. With Berumen assuming dominance inside, and Fullove and Michel slashing to the basket, the lead ballooned to 20-8 after the opening period, and 30-12 with 5:50 left in the first half. Everything was going Simi Valley's way, including a 13-of-13 start at the freethrow line. Early in the second quarer, Jordan had committed 10 fouls to Simi Valley's 1. But Jordan, which hit just 3 of 17 shots in the opening quarter, fired its way back into the game. Craig Calloway hit a pair of 3-pointers and Peterson and one trey to unleash a 21-9 spurt that trimmed the deficit to 39-30 at the half.

Finally, however, the Panthers (17-12) ran out of time. Three Pioneer players scored all but 10 of their points. Sophomore guard Branduinn Fullove led Simi Valley with 29 points, junior center Rafael Berumen scored 21 and sophomore forward Brett Michel had 17. The Panthers got 19 points from junior forward Craig Calloway, 16 from junior forward Darren Peterson and 10 from sophomore center Travon Bryant. The average height of the Pioneers' starters was 6-foot-5 - four inches taller than the average Panther - and Simi Valley capitalized on its size advantage by dominating the boards and scoring numerous baskets inside.

Game 2: Bellflower 71, Diamond Bar 69 (OT)

Senior forward Isaac Brooks sank two free throws with seven seconds left in overtime to break a 69-69 tie. Senior guard Armando Orejel hit a three, his first basket of the night with only nine seconds in regulation to tie the score at 64 aand force the overtime for Bellflower (23-5). Orejel then opened the extra period with another three to give the Bellflower team a quick 67-64 lead. Brooks finished with 29 points and 13 rebounds and received help in the post from teammate Cedric Lusk who scored 10 points, grabbed six rebounds and blocked six shots. Bellflower will play Simi Valley in the quarterfinals on Friday.