IIIAA227.htm

SoCal High School & Prep Report

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

Only two games in this division, which is already at the semifinal stage. Both of these games 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 leave now, because they'll be crowded and SRO:start driving: It's Friday, and rush hour is on.

Division III-AA Semifinals

Game 1: Ocean View v. Pomona at Marina

Ocean View won on Tuesday against Bolsa Grande 74-55 to advance, but not until, just 2:28 into Tuesday night's game the scorers clock malfunctioned for a total of 28 minutes, delaying the game. Bolsa Grande's coach Mike Anderson complained: "I will go on the record right now and say this game never should have started," he offered. "It's an injustice to both of these teams. There's too much at stake here." The win on Tuesday moved Ocean View, the Golden West League champions (23-4) into tonight's quarterfinal round, where the Seahawks will face Pomona, a 98-84 winner over Magnolia Tuesday. On Tuesday, Ocean View went to its inside game -- namely, 6'-10" center Kevin Hanson, to take control in the fourth quarter. Hanson scored nine of his game-high 20 points in the period, his three-point play with 5:47 to play pushing the Seahawks into a 58-49 advantage. Junior guard Tony Dow ran the floor show for Ocean View and, along with fellow guard Casey Lawson, scored 14 points. Jason Martini, who once again came off the bench to spark the Seahawks in the first half, finished with 10 points. For Pomona, they got to tonight's game by beating Magnolia 98-84, and Jerry Green scored 41 points in that game as Pomona brought its record to (21-7). Senior leadership is what Pomona has, and forward Rashad Davis scored 20 points off the bench, including 13 in the second half in Tuesday's game, and Green scored 26 points in the second half, and hit 8 of 10 free throws in the second half. Aaron Thomas also is a big time player for Pomona, and he scored 21 points Tuesday, including four 3-pointers. And if 6'-9" junior center Shomari Sarpygot can stay out of foul trouble, this should be a very tough fight for OV.

Game 2: Barstow v. La Canada at Blair

La Canada High (24-5) will have a handful of problems tonight when it faces Barstow (24-3) in a Southern Section Division III-AA semifinal boys' basketball game at Blair High. All five Barstow starters are averaging 10 or more points. The high-scoring Aztecs, who averaged 75 points through the regular season, are coming off their highest-scoring game, a 106-93 victory over Riverside Notre Dame in the quarterfinals. Two of Barstow's losses were against Division I teams, Eisenhower and Pacific. Junior swingman Charles Mann averages 15.3 points a game for the Aztecs, followed by senior guard Mario Hernandez with 11.8 and senior guard Joey Baca at 11.2. La Canada's 6-foot-7 center Matt Moore is coming off a 40-point performance against Lompoc and could have a similar game tonight. He has at least five inches on every Barstow player. Moore is averaging 25 points a game, teammate Ian Sullivan 15.6.