IAA228.htm

SoCal High School & Prep Report

Southern Section Playoffs: Division I-AA
Quarterfinal Results--(February 28, 1998)

Here's what happened last night in Division I-AA as, not surprisingly, all the top seeded teams in each Regional bracket advanced. Just like they were supposed to do. So, next Thursday, No. 1 in Region I Artesia with Jason Kapono, Jamal O'Quinn, James Murdock, Apolinar Fernandez and Jack Martinez, will match up against No. 1 in Region IV Simi Valley with Rafael Berumen, Branduinn Fullove, Ian Boys, and the Michel brothers; in the other semifinal game, Etiwanda, the No. I team in Region III will match up against Long Beach Poly, the No. 1 team in Region II. Here's what happened last night, and how the teams advanced.

Region I-- Artesia 77, Eisenhower 71

Junior forward Jason Kapono scored a team-high 26 points, 17 in the first half, and grabbed 14 rebounds as the Artesia High boys basketball team survived the helter-skelter play of Eisenhower to post a 77-71 victory Friday night in a CIF Southern Section Division I-AA quarterfinal at Rialto High. The Pioneers came out hot at the start, opening the game with a 23-3 run and threatening to turn the game into a rout. But the Eagles steadily chipped away at the deficit and pulled within 41-38 at the half despite 22 first-half points by Kapono. Eisenhower junior point guard Trenell Eddings, a cousin of Artesia point guard James Murdock, led a potent perimeter attack in the second half that finally saw the Eagles (22-5) take the lead, 67-66, with 5:22 to play in the fourth quarter on two foul shots by Eddings. But the big rally took too much out of Eisenhower, and freshman Jack Martinez's nine points in the fourth quarter helped the Pioneers regain control. Martinez finished with 18 points, 16 rebounds and four blocks and Murdock chipped in with 16 points and seven assists for Artesia. Senior forward Jamal O'Quinn added 11 points. Eddings drilled six 3-pointers and finished with a game-high 30 points for the Eagles, who made 15 shots from behind the arc and put up an amazing 71 shots for the game, which doesn't say much for the Artesia defense which let him get that many open looks at the basket.

Eisenhower used its quickness and long-range shooting to battle back from an 18-point first-quarter deficit. But the Eagles came up just short at the end. Literally. Eisenhower only had one player among its first six in the rotation who was taller than 6'-3". Artesia's starting frontline stood 6'-8", 6'-7" and 6'-5" and its first player off the bench was 6'-8". But the Eagles used 14 3-pointers - including six from Trenell Eddings, who scored a game-high 30 pointers - to offset a decided height advantage. Their last 3-pointer, from Darius Davis cut the Pioneers' lead to 72-71 with 3:01 to play. Artesia continued to pound the ball inside to Jack Martinez, though, and the 6-8 freshman made 5-of-8 free throws in the final 3:12 to help them hold on.

Davis' 3-point attempt to tie hit the front of the rim with 14 seconds left and Martinez made 1-of-2 free throws to give Artesia a 75-71 lead with 13.4 seconds left. Martinez, who came off the bench, scored 16 of his 18 points in the second half. For awhile, it looked like Eddings might do it by himself. The 5-7 junior was nearly unstoppable, despite injuring his neck with a hard fall to the floor in the second quarter that gave him a headache that forced him to cup his ears when the crowd grew too loud. All the Eagles showed their toughness by coming back after Artesia bolted to a 20-2 lead in the first 4:21. Eisenhower trailed, 30-13, after one quarter as Artesia got 10 points from Jason Kapono and nine from point guard James Murdock. The Eagles pulled to within three points, 41-38 at the half and actually took the lead on a 3-pointer from Eddings with 5:02 to play that made it 47-46. Eisenhower's last lead was 67-66 when Eddings made two free throws with 5:22 to play. Eddings also made 1-of-2 free throws to draw the Eagles even, 68-68, with 5:03 left.

The top-seeded Pioneers, winners of 15 straight, improved to 28-1 and advanced to face Simi Valley in a semifinal Tuesday night at a site to be determined. Artesia needs to win a coin flip today to avoid playing a third consecutive postseason game on the road. The Pioneers' only loss came to Westchester in the championship game of the Best of the West Tournament.

Region II--Long Beach Poly 57, Capistrano Valley 44

Long Beach Poly held off a late rally by Capistrano Valley to post a 57-44 victory in the quarterfinal round of the Division I-AA boys' basketball playoffs Friday night at Long Beach College. Long Beach Poly (27-5) held a 30-21 lead at halftime and extended the advantage to 43-31 after three quarters. But Capistrano Valley (20-9) went on a 10-0 run starting the fourth quarter and cut the lead to 43-41 on a basket by Ryan Badrtalei with 5 minutes 36 seconds left. The Cougars then moved to within 45-44 on a three-point field goal by Mike Stowell with 4:20 left. But the Jackrabbits countered with a 12-0 run to seal the victory. Long Beach Poly, which made eight three-pointers in the game, was led by sophomore Wesley Stokes, who scored 14 points. "We couldn't contain [Stokes]," said Capistrano Valley Coach Brian Mulligan. Capistrano Valley had lost to Poly by 15 points in early December. "The first time we played them, Stokes hit eight or nine free throws in the fourth quarter, so I knew he was a winner. But I didn't know he had those kind of offensive skills." Stokes, the smallest and the youngest player on the court, was also the best last night. He scored three consecutive baskets, two in spectacular fashion, and his drive set up a short Ricky Anderson jumper on the next possesion as Poly pulled away from Capistrano Valley.

Capistrano Valley (20-9) scored the first 10 points of the fourth quarter to close within 43-41. The No. 2-seeded Jackrabbits then went to a classic "Four-Down" or "Four Flat", basically a lay-up drill for the point guard, and a very effective offense against a man-to-man defense. Four players other than the point guard basically spread out, two almost at the corners on the baseline, and the two forwards off the blocks at the baseline. This sets up a classic one on one against the point guard, who, once he beats his man off the dribble can either lay it in, or if another defender comes off his own man to help, dish to the now unguarded teammate. This is exactly the play which Poly then ran, three times in succession, and each time with success. Stokes dribbled time off the 35-second clock near halfcourt, and when the clock reached 10, the first time he beat Jermaine McDaniel off the dribble, took the ball to the basket and, in the air, ducked under 6'-9" Josh Garrett and banked in a left-handed layup with 4:40 to play. Mike Stowell answered with the last of his three 3-pointers and game-high 21 points to bring the Cougars within 45-44. But Poly again spread the floor and watched as Stokes scored on an almost identical play. Stowell led Capistrano Valley with 21 points. He made six of 14 field goals and made six of six free throws. Josh Garrett had 10 points and seven rebounds and Badrtalei had eight points and seven rebounds for the Cougars. Stowell turned the ball over for Capistrano Valley and Stokes again scored for Poly. He followed that by breaking down the Cougar defense and dishing to Anderson, whose short jumper put Poly ahead, 51-44, with 2:40 left. Stokes, who finished with 14, had 8 in the fourth quarter, and had four assists, two steals and one turnover while playing the entire game. Poly closed the first half with a 14-5 run and a 30-23 lead on Mike McIntyre's 3-pointer at the buzzer. McIntrye scored 11 points, Shelton Diggs added 10 and 6-9 star Ricky Anderson, playing with a badly sprained ankle, came off the bench to score 11, grab eight rebounds and block three shots in about 20 minutes.

Region III--Etiwanda 79, Fontana 77

Gary Colbert's layup with 30 seconds remaining in overtime put Etiwanda ahead for the 79-77 win over Fontana Friday night at A.B. Miller High School. Third-seeded Etiwanda (23-6) advances to play No. 2 seed Long Beach Poly Tuesday at an alternate site to be determined by coin flip.

Fontana appeared to be winning easily, and led by 12 points in the third quarter, at 53-41 with only 5:21 remaining in the quarter. But then Etiwanda just came screaming back into the game as Glen Summerall got into foul trouble. But after Fontana's James Dowe made two free throws with five seconds left in regulation to send the game into overtime, the Steelers again appeared to take control, moving to a four-point lead in the overtime. But Fontana scored its last point of the night on a Dowe free throw with two minutes remaining in overtime, making the score 77-74. Dowe missed two free throws while protecting a 77-76 lead with 58 seconds left. Colbert's basket put the Eagles ahead 78-77, and the Steelers then got called for a 3-second violation call with 12 seconds remaining, turning over the ball. Colbert made a free throw with nine second remaining, before Dowe's desperation heave in the final seconds missed. Simpson, who was sick with a cold, scored 15 of his 17 points after halftime, and finished with 13 rebounds. Colbert led Etiwanda with 20 points, while Corey Landrum had 16 points and 11 rebounds. Etiwanda had trouble with Fontana despite the fact that Steelers' leading scorer Glen Summerall, was limited to eight points before fouling out with 3:18 to play in regulation. Fontana's press gave Etiwanda real headaches in the first three quarters, as the Eagles turned the ball over 10 times in the first half alone. Dowe and Gary Holmes led the way for the Steelers with 19 and 13 points, respectively. Etiwanda kept it close by making its free throws in a foul-heavy game. The Eagles made 25 of 30 in the game, compared to just 15 of 24 free throws for Fontana. Etiwanda did not lead from the first quarter until the final two minutes in regulation. Colbert's 8-foot shot in the lane with eight seconds left in regulation gave Etiwanda a 72-70 lead.

Region IV--Simi Valley 73, Bellflower 56

Simi Valley appears to be peaking at just the right time. And it's not a moment too soon, as they will play No. 1 overall seed in Division I-AA, Artesia, in the semifinals on Tuesday. And while neither of Simi Valley's two previous playoff opponents have been able to solve the problem of matching up with the Pioneers' outstanding frontcourt, Artesia has the size to match up nicely with Berumen, Fullove and Michel. In fact they may have more than enough size.

But Friday night, Bellflower just couldn't figure out how to stop the Pioneers, and it's little wonder because they just did not match up well with the taller and more physical Simi Valley team. Like all the teams before them (with the exception of Newbury Park, and two teams in Vegas, the Buccaneers ended up losing too, dropping a 73-56 decision to fourth-seeded Simi Valley in a CIF Southern Section Division I-AA quarterfinal at Gahr. Brett Michel hit for 21 points, and Branduinn Fullove scored 19. The Pioneers are now 25-5 and will move on to face top-seeded Artesia in a semifinal Tuesday. Center Rafael Berumen, generally considered among the top 10 juniors in the state, had 18 points, scoring 12 in the first half, as Simi rolled to a 35-17 lead at the break. Bellflower senior forward Isaac Brooks, guarded by Berumen, tried to jump out to the wings, but when he did, he was usually met by Fullove or Michel who doubled him. Bellflower, which closes out it's season at 23-6, tried to come back in the second half, but couldn't get any closer than a 13 point deficit. Brooks finished with 14 points and 11 rebounds and senior point guard Robert Scott had a team-high 16 points for the Buccaneers. Berumen also had 17 rebounds and seven assists.