IV-A 221

SoCal High School & Prep Report

Southern Section Playoffs: All The Division
IV-A Scores & Highlights--(February 21, 1998)

Wouldn't you know it. Riverside again poses an information blackout, along with of all places, Santa Monica Crossroads. Oh well, at least we got the score. And you may also notice something else unusual about this Division compared to the others, and that is that Saturday's games in Division IV-A marked the quarterfinal games, since the first round started on Wednesday last week. Of the four games played there were no upsets at all and all the number one seeds in the Division remain standing.

So here's what happened last night in IV-A 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 IV-A bracket, the No. 1 Seed is Crossroads; No. 2 Serra; No. 3. Bell-Jeff; and No. 4 Verbum Dei., and all of the top seeds won their games, We understand that the semi-finals will be played next Friday, but that just seems like such a long time to wait in between games. Here's a look, region by region, at each game in order according to the bracketing:

Division IV-A

Region I

Game 1: #1 Crossroads 92, #3 Sherman Indian 41

Even though the schedule said that this was supposed to be a second round game to be played on Tuesday the 24th, it was played last night instead. We were unable to get any details. We'll let you know if we do. Crossroads faces off against Verbum Dei next Friday in a semi-final matchup in this Division, which got started well before the other Divisions did.

Region II

Game 1: #1 Serra 71, #2 Whittier Christian 52

Serra improved to 21-9 overall while Whittier Christian closed out the season with a record of 16-12. For Serra, the scoring was Johnson 14, Rainwater 4, Geter 5, R. Lewis 2, Weston 2, Bass 3, Brown 5, Cole 3, Sanbers 15, and E. Lewis 18. Johnson had three three-pointers while Jon Soa of W.C. had 19 points including three threes. Serra aoutsocred W.C. in every quarter except the first; at the end of one the score was tied 13-13. But Serra just gradually and steadily pulled away, leading to a 24-13 fourth quarter for Serra, which advances to play Bell-Jeff in the semifinals of the Division next Friday night.

Region III

Game 1: # 1 Bell-Jeff 58, #3 LA Baptist 51

Peter Swing of Bell-Jeff High was told to guard high-scoring Frank Vasquez of L.A. Baptist all over the court in a box-and-one defense, and he did it, just taking Vasquez out of the game. His defensive effort helped Bell-Jeff beat the Knights, 58-51, at St. Genevieve High in a quarterfinal game. Vasquez, averaging 22 points, made only three of 14 shots and finished with seven points. The Knights (12-13) appeared confused and hesitant on offense throughout the game. Bell-Jeff (18-12) earned a spot in next Friday's semifinals. As usual, the Guards relied on their inside-outside duo of Mike West and Ruben Douglas. West scored 22 points and had 14 rebounds; Douglas contributed 24 points, four steals and four assists. L.A. Baptist was able to stay close because Douglas, averaging 34.8 points, was struggling with his shooting. He made only 10 of 25 shots.

The Knights trailed, 24-20, at halftime after scoring six consecutive points in the final 48 seconds. They hurt Bell-Jeff with a full-court press. The problem was they couldn't press unless they scored a basket. In the second half, L.A. Baptist twice fell behind by 10 before closing to 44-40 with 4:24 remaining on a basket by Cameron Craig. Then West and Douglas took charge. Bell-Jeff's lead grew to 14 points with 1:29 left. Even on an off night, the Arizona-bound Douglas showed off his immense talent. He finished with five dunks. For LA Baptist, Craig had 12 points and Evan Reganstreif 11.

Region IV

Game 1: #1 Verbum Dei 65, #2 Orange Lutheran 42

Matt Erickson led the Lancers with 14 ponts in a losing effort against the visiting Eagles. Orange Lutheran concludes its season with a 13-12 record. Verbum Dei advances to the semi-finals against Crossroads and will play next Friday.