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SoCal High School & Prep Report

Southern Section Playoffs: Divisions IV & V
All The Rest--(February 25, 1998)

For now we've got scattered highlights, and lots of scores. We wanted to get these up all in one place quickly, but we'll continue to look for details and as soon as we can get them, we'll plug them in. For now here are both divisions' scores and whatever else we could find.

Division IV-AA

Quarterfinals

Region I

Twentynine Palms 73, Beaumont 66

We received this note from our friend "Park & Rec" who sent us an e-mail report on the game:

"29 Palms holds on for victory!

"Number one seeded 29 Palms High School had to hold on for a quarterfinal round victory on Tuesday night vs Beaumont High School. Beaumont started fast leading 29 Palms 17-12 at the end of the first quarter on the shoulders of their 6'-9" star Center, Bryan Stephens 10 points, 3 blocks, and 6 rebounds. 29 Palms was able to turn the tables on the Cougars in the 2nd & 3rd quarters outscoring Beaumont 45-23 to take a 57-40 lead. The wildcats recorded 17 steals in the run and held Stephens at bay limiting his shots and holding him to 4 points. Senior Guard Lance Ray, San Bernardino's second leading scorer, scored 11 of his game high 32 points in the decisive 3rd quarter. Beaumont was able to close the gap in the 4th quarter to 66-61 with 2:30 left with an array of post moves from Stephens, phantom calls from the officials, and two 3's a piece from forward, Branden Tedrow and guard, Aaron Stephens. With Morton on the bench after fouling out in the 4th, Bryan Stephens scored 10 points in the quarter. 29 Palms made 5 of 8 free throws and had a bucket from Junior forward, Maurice Buchanan to secure the victory. 29 Palms will host a semi-final game on Friday night vs St.Joseph Santa Maria at Yucca Valley High School. This marks the 4th straight year the the wildcats have reached the semi-finals."

Region II

Calvary Chapel SA 52, Laguna Beach 39

Joe Ortiz scored 23 points to lead visiting Calvary Chapel (22-6), which will play Pasadena Marshall. Nick Reynolds scored 11 points for Laguna Beach (17-10). Calvary Chapel might not be as talented as it was last season. But it is beating teams by bigger margins this year. The Eagles did that again Tuesday, knocking off Laguna Beach, 52-39, at Estancia High in a CIF Southern Section Division IV-AA quarterfinal basketball game. Calvary Chapel (22-6) will play Marshall of Los Angeles (19-5) in the semifinals Friday. Calvary Chapel will be the home team, but must select a site other than it's home gym. The Eagles advanced to the Division IV-A championship game last season, in which it lost to Crossroads of Santa Monica, whose star player was current UCLA freshman Baron Davis. Ortiz, a senior, said he thinks Calvary Chapel's cohesiveness might be the key to being just as successful this season. "This is a very close team," he said. "We're all good friends, on and off the court." Ortiz led all scorers with 23 points, making 9 of 18 shots, including three three-pointers. His extraordinarily quick first step and ability to dribble-drive expertly with either hand baffled Laguna Beach. The Eagles scored the first eight points of the game and had a 16-8 lead after the first quarter. They were ahead 28-19 at half-time. Laguna Beach shot poorly in the third quarter, making just 2 of 13 shots, and the Eagles built a 17-point lead they took into the fourth quarter. The Artists never got closer than the final 13-point margin. The Artists finished 17-11. They defeated St. Paul of Santa Fe Springs, 63-58, in the first round. Calvary Chapel beat El Segundo in the first round, 53-39.

Region III

Pasadena Marshall 76, La Salle 59

Brandon Marshall of Marshall High scored 19 points and led the Eagles to the win in a game played at Blair High. The game was filled with wild shots and fouling galore. Perhaps the biggest shot in the game came when Marshall hit a three pointer to put the Eagles (22-5) up 58-45 with 6:43 left to play in the game. Marshall then nailed another three, his fourth of the game, with 5:27 to play, to put Marshall up by a score of 64-48. Marshall (High) which is the No. 3 seeded team in the Division IV-AA race, with now face No. 2 seeded Santa Ana Calvary Chapel, which is now 22-6 overall. The location for Friday's game is yet to be determined.

Region IV

Santa Maria St. Joseph 75, Duarte 72

The Falcons missed two three point attempts in the final 15 seconds to drop the game in a heart-breaker. Steve Greene's shot missed dropping on a three point attempt and Dennis Weathersby missed a final last second shot for Duarte, which ends its season at 16-10 overall. Charles Pauley led the way for the Falcons with 17 points.

Division IV-A

Semifinals

Friday 7:30 pm

Verbum Dei v. Crossroads at West Los Angeles College

Bell-Jeff v. Serra at Harbor College

Division V-AA

Second Round

Region I

Game 1: Montclair Prep 77, Apple Valley Christian 55

Rocky Steryo scored 24 points in the second quarter and the top-seeded Mounties won their 19th consecutive game in a second-round game at Apple Valley Christian. Steryo had six three-point baskets in the quarter, giving him 119 for the season, and finished with 29 points for Montclair Prep (25-3).

Game 2: Yeshiva 69, Woodcrest Christian 51

Region II

Game 1: Chadwick 68, Avalon 50

The Lancers, 16-9 overall, started slowly, watching the visiting Dolphins, who are 14-4, jump out to a 30-16 lead. Avalon never recovered, putting an end to their best season in recent memory. Peter McCaslen scored 11 of his game high 26 points in the first quarter for No. 2 seed Chadwick, which hit 11 three pointers in the game. Senior Steve Tilly hit for 16 for Avalon while teammate Mitch Marincovich, a sophomore, hit for another 14 for Avalon.

Game 2: St. Anthony 74, Mary Star 67

Mary Star jumped out to what looked to be a commanding 23-11 lead at the end of the first quarter, and then extended the margin by another three outscoring St. Anthony 20-17 in the second quarter. But St. Anthony came back with a 21-15 third and just shutting Mary Star down in the fourth, outscoring them 25-9 in the final period. For St. Anthony Lloyd had 23, while Diggs had 16 and Luyben had 10.

Region III

Game 1: Pilgrim 55, Bishop Diego 52

Game 2: Santa Clara 81, Valley Torah 42

B.J. Ward had 16 points, eight rebounds and five assists for visiting Santa Clara (12-12) in a second-round game played at the Westside Jewish Community Center.

Region IV

Game 1: Pacific Hills 104, Boron 55

Game 2: Pasadena Poly 62, Ambassador Christian 43

Koko Archibong scored 23 points, including a combined 15 in the first and third quarter as Poly (16-9) eliminated the Dawgs (20-5) from the CIF Division 5AA playoffs. Pasadena Poly outscored Ambassador 36-11 in the first and third quarters combined. Chris Como scored 21 and Matt Winter added 11 for the Dawgs.

Division V-A

Quarterfinals

Region I

Rolling Hills Prep 79, Lancaster Bethel Christian 59

Region II

Laguna Blanca 84, Immanuel Christian 51

Region III

Rio Hondo Prep 69, Santa Clarita Christian 49

Brothers Justin and Andrew Duncan each scored 16 points for Santa Clarita Christian, but the Cardinals (17-5) lost the quarterfinal game at Rio Hondo Prep (13-9).

Region IV

Price 61, Orangewood 57

The Spartans (18-7) took a three-point lead into the fourth quarter but couldn't hold on as they were eliminated by the Knights. Starly Alvarado led Orangewood with 17 points, and Nick Wolfsen added 13.