IVV228.htm

SoCal High School & Prep Report

Southern Section Playoffs: All The Rest Of
The Division Games--(February 27, 1998)

All right, so we got tired of putting these reports up separtely, so here's everything from the rest of the Divisions. There were a couple of upsets, including Verbum Dei, which knocked off Crossroads. Check out the results.

Division IV-AA Semifinals

Game 1: St. Joseph 82, Twentynine Palms 74

Thanks to our friend George Groce for the following report:

St. Joseph High Junior point guard Matt Cova scored a game-high 31 points against 29 Palms in Friday night's CIF-Southern SEction Division IV-AA semifinals. The Knights will go on to the Championship game at UC-Irvine after beating the Wildcats 82-74. The Knights (20-8), seeded fourth in the division will play Calvary Chapel for the Section Title. The Eagles, seeded No. 2, beat No. three seeded Marshall, 79-70. Taking on 29 Palms top scorer Lance Ray-at a three inch disadvantage no less- Cova stole the show. He made good on five three-point shots and played tough defense. The win required a late rally by the Knights, who trailed through the first three quarters. After the Wildcats opened a 62-58 lead going into the fourth, St. Joseph clamped down on defense and put away Twentynine Palms with a 24-11 fourth-quarter run to win the game. St. Joseph Senior forward Mike Hoffman had 19 points, but St. Joseph Coach Ed Torres was bragging most about the play of junior forward Jason Williams who had 14 points for the Knights. Twentynine Plams was led by Ray, who scored 23 points, including two 3-pointers, and Maurice Buchannan, who added 16 points before fouling out.

St. Joseph (82) Cova 31, Williams 14, Hoffman 19, Smith 2, Krausse 2, Draper 8, Merlo 6.
29 Palms (74) Jackson 8, Ray 23, Roberts 5, Buchannan 16, Spear 6, Morton 8
3-point field goals: St Joseph (7) Cova 5, Hoffman, Draper 29 Palms (3) Ray 2, Roberts
Fouled out: St Joseph - none, Twentynine Palms - Buchannan, Morton

Game 2: Calvary Chapel v. Pasadena Marshall at Estancia

Calvary Chapel's Joe Ortiz became one of only six players in county history to score more than 2,000 career points, leading his team to a 79-70 semifinal victory over Pasadena Marshall in the Southern Section Division IV-AA boys' basketball playoffs at Estancia High. Ortiz, a senior, got his 2,001st point with 40 seconds left in the game on the second of two free throws. He led all scorers with 32 points. Third-seeded Marshall (22-6) came out from the opening tip with a strong full-court press, but second-seeded Calvary Chapel (23-6) had little trouble breaking it to take a 21-12 first-quarter lead. Calvary Chapel went on a 10-2 run midway through the first quarter, thanks to a pair of three-pointers and
a layup by Ortiz, to jump out to a 17-8 lead. Marshall narrowed the lead to 26-21 on a basket by Chris Bennett with 5:04 to play in the first half. Calvary Chapel, however, went on a 14-4 run to close out the half. By the end of the first half, the Eagles had a 44-27 lead, closing out the half with an 18-5 run. Ortiz ended the half with 18 points, hitting eight of 14 from the field, including four three-pointers. Marshall rallied in the second half, opening the third quarter with a 13-4 run. Calvary Chapel committed five turnovers and made only two of eight shots in the first seven minutes as Marshall got as close as 48-40. After playing a sharp first half with crisp passing and solid teamwork to open up the lead, things began to get slightly scrambled for Calvary Chapel. Marshall started whittling away at the lead, trimming it to 54-48 on a three-pointer by Brandon Marshall at the buzzer to end the third quarter. But Calvary Chapel was able to get reorganized by the start of the fourth quarter. Calvary rolled off eight consecutive points to open the period — four by Young — to push the lead back out to 62-48. Marshall cut the edges off the lead, but was never able to fully recoup the difference. Marshall was forced to start fouling with almost two minutes to play. Calvary Chapel scored 11 points from the free-throw line in the quarter. Calvary Chapel had a 68-54 lead with less than three minutes remaining in the game. Feeling comfortable, Falconer began sending in his reserves. But Marshall's Brandon Marshall hit two consecutive three-pointers and things got sloppy, prompting Falconer to get his starters back in the game. "I was more disappointed in the last three minutes, when you can't hold a lead," Falconer said. "I didn't think we played real smart. We were lucky." Calvary Chapel, which has won 13 consecutive games, will play fourth-seeded Santa Maria St. Joseph in the championship March 6 at UC Irvine.

The victory puts Calvary Chapel (23-6) in the championship game for the second consecutive season. They will play St. Joseph's of Santa Maria.

On Friday night, St. Joseph upset top-seeded Twentynine

Division IV-A Semifinals

Game 1: Verbum Dei 82, Crossroads 72

Verbum Dei used to be a power in high school hoops. They won the CIF title in 1994 and 1995, but three years ago in basketball is an eternity. Crossroads won in 1996 and 1997, but last night, Verbum Dei proved that it was their turn this time, and they proved that they are back, and in a big way as they defeated Crossroads, the defending CIF and State Champions. Junior guard Marlon Parmer got to Crossroads all evening, scoring a game-high 34 points. With Center Dalron Johnson in foul trouble, Verbum never faltered as Prmer stepped up. In the third quarter, he scored 11 points as Verbum Dei, which is now 18-5, broke a 34-34 tie at the half. Parmer, a left handed guard, took Crossroads off the dribble, slashed and drove all night long. Freshman center Isaiah Fox had some of his best minutes of his career so far, hitting for 23 points, 17 rebounds and three blocked shots. He tried to keep the Roadrunners--who close out their seasons at 18-7-- within striking distance But Verbum Dei took advantage of the constant fouling and the many free-throw opportunities that presented. VB made 31 of 42 from the line, including 17 of 21 in the fourth quarter. Devrin Anderson added 18 points for Crossroads and sophomore forward Felipe Williams had 14 points and eight rebounds.

Game 2: Serra 90, Bell-Jeff 61

It had to happen sooner or later. Of course most of the guys on Bell-Jeff's squad would have opted for much later if they'd been asked. As it was, they had trouble catching their breath, let alone express any opinions. And Serra gave Ruben Douglas, who is averaging 34 points per game a little reality check. And while the Guards were busy fending off Serra, Coach Eli Essa and Bell-Jeff tried to slow down a bigger and faster Serra team with a zone defense, but the Cavaliers made six three-point field goals in the first quarter and built a 30-15 lead after eight minutes in a Division IV-A semifinal at Harbor College. Serra forward Doyle Cole hit four three-point baskets in the first quarter when he scored 12 of his 20 points. Bell-Jeff's Ruben Douglas, the region's leading scorer, had 30 points in his final game. Serra (23-8) put the game away with a 12-4 run in the last two minutes, 30 seconds of the third quarter, building a 66-46 lead. Guard Davon Johnson led Serra with 24 points. Bell-Jeff (10-13) stayed within striking distance in the first half by hitting 74% of its field-goal attempts. Bell-Jeff shot 53%. Center Mike West scored 19 points and added seven rebounds.

Division V-AA Quarterfinals

Region I--Played Thursday 2/26/98--Montclair Prep 65, Yeshiva 45

Region II-- Chadwick 55, St. Anthony 49

St. Anthony boys basketball team reached the quarterfinals by rallying from a 20-point deficit to reach Friday night's clash with Chadwick. But an eight-point deficit to the visiting Dolphins going into the final two minutes proved too high a hurdle for the Saints to clear. The eventual 55-49 loss ended St. Anthony's season at 21-7 while senior-laden Chadwick, the No. 2 seed, moves to the semifinals with a 15-14 mark. The Saints struggled all night from the perimeter against the Dolphins' 2-3 zone, but used the superior quickness of guards A.J. Diggs and Pearson Smith as well as the inside presence of Mike Scott to forge a 33-33 tie heading into the fourth quarter. But Chadwick's experience took over as the Dolphins reeled off an 11-3 run over the first 3:51 of the quarter. Scott finally quelled the spurt with a putback of a missed Jared Lloyd jumper in the lane to cut it to 44-38 with 3:55 remaining and Joe Luyben made a long 3-pointer at the 1:55 mark to cut the Chadwick advantage to 48-43. A quick 3-pointer by Peter McCaskin was the Dolphins' response, however, and the Saints' rally came to an end. St. Anthonly's coach Walker was certainly happy with his team's defensive effort, especially the 5'-6" Diggs' work against his 6'-4" Chadwick counterpart, David Cann. Offensively, Smith paced a balanced attack with 11 points and Scott had 10 points and 13 rebounds for the Saints. And with Smith, Diggs and Lloyd (9 points) all sophomores, Walker expressed optimism for the future.

Region III--Santa Clara 62, Pilgrim 44

With two of his top players fighting foul trouble, Santa Clara Coach Lou Cvijanovich pulled an ace from his sleeve and the Saints advanced to the Division V-AA semifinals with a victory at Daniel Murphy High. The ace was Ryan McGill, who stepped in for guard B.J. Ward and swingman Nick Jones to lead all scorers with 24 points and tie for the team lead with 10 rebounds. After a sloppy first half that saw Ward sit out most of the second quarter with three fouls, Santa Clara sleepwalked to a 30-23. The Saints woke up in the third quarter, reeling off six consecutive baskets, including a three-pointer by Scott Zorich that put Santa Clara (13-12) up 43-25 with six minutes left in the quarter. Jones, who sat out most of the third quarter with four fouls, finished with 10 points and seven rebounds. Ward had nine points.
Zorich scored 13.

Region IV--Pacific Hills 77, Pasadena Poly 67

Pasadena Poly only played hard for three quarters. As a result, they lost, since the fourth quarter did them in, as Pacific Hills got it's 22nd win of the season. The Panthers end their season at 16-10. Pacific Hills, powered by reserve forward Ryan Abrahams' game-high 25 points, used a 10-2 run in the fourth quarter to extend the lead to 65-58 with only two minutes to play. Even though they lost, many of the Pasadena players were pretty impressivge. Koko Archibong had 21 points, a team high, and Rayn Haden had another 18. Archibong had 12 boards as well. Even though the Panthers lost, they played very well. Pacific Hills will face Montclair Prep in the semifinals next week.

Division V-A Semifinals

Game 1: Rolling Hills Prep 60, Price 42

At Serra High, Rolling Hills Prep's sophomore forward B.J. Hart scored 22 points and grabbed 10 rebounds to lead the top-seeded Huskies, who are now 23-1 to the semifinal win. This will mark the second year that Rolling Hills has appeared in the CIF championship game in five seasons. But to get the win, Rolling Hills needed a last spurt of scoring tin the fourth quarter to put the game completely out of reach. Senior guard Joey Perry added 16 pints and junior guard Chiumba Johnson had another 10. Rolling Hills Prep will face off agaisnt Labuna Blanca in the Divisional finals on Thursday at the Sports Arena.

Game 2: Laguna Blanca 55, Rio Hondo Prep 47

Laguna Blanca High seniors David Cochran, Chad Lewis and Jon Keith know what patience is all about. And on Friday night their four-year wait finally paid off as they helped lead the Owls basketball team to the CIF Division 5-A championship game. Rio Hondo (15-10) made numerous runs and trailed 46-44 with three minutes to play. But the Owls never gave in. The second-seeded Owls (21-4) face top-seeded Rolling Hills at 5:30 p.m. Thursday in the CIF championship at UC Irvine. Rolling Hills defeated Price 60-42 to advance. Rolling Hills was Cochran, Lewis and Keith's first-ever opponent as freshmen. Rolling Hills won that game 65-32. It was the last time they met. Brian Niehaus, a junior, led Laguna Blanca with 19 points and 10 rebounds. Niehaus also converted on a 3-point play with 29 seconds left to secure the victory. Cochran added 13 points and grabbed nine rebounds, including two key ones down the stretch. Keith grabbed 12 rebounds. Laguna Blanca has had a boys basketball program for four years and Prior has been the coach since its inception.

Rio Hondo scored the first eight points of the third period to cut the lead to 27-26. The Owls answered with a 9-1 run of their own - paced by Chris Tames four points - and led 36-29 at the end of the period. Rio Hondo cut the lead to 46-44 with three minutes left in the game. But Laguna Blanca reserve Josh Ferguson scored a layup, Cochran had a key defensive rebound and Tames made a layup to give the Owls a 50-44 lead with 1:35 to play. Tames totaled eight points and eight rebounds.

Cochran was equally as thrilled.``I'm thankful Coach Prior has been so patient with us,'' said Cochran. ``We've struggled, but the guys finally pulled it together as a team. And the fan support has been tremendous."

Rio Hondo Prep - Dinius 6, Coulter 18, Blake 8, Ramos 5, Creager 10;
Laguna Blanca- Keith 6, Cochran 13, Niehaus 19, Lewis 3, Tamas 8, Ferguson 2, Wilson 4.
3-point goals-RH 2 (Creager 2), LB 1 (Lewis).
Total fouls-RH 16, LB 21.