orange county 205

SoCal High School & Prep Report

O.C. Southern Section Report:
Scores & Highlights--(February 5, 1998)

Well, with this one in the can, we've just about got all the Southern Section games in the entire SoCal region, and then some (if you include Bakersfield, which is technically in the Central Section). If you spot a game or score that's missing or incorrect, let us know, because we worked really hard to get all this stuff, and would hate for it to be wrong.

Century League

Santa Ana Valley 71, Canyon 68

The visiting Falcons (7-15, 4-4) completed a sweep of the Comanches (15-8, 2-5). Katella 68, Loara 57: The ninth-ranked Knights (20-3, 5-2) took sole possession of first place as Mike Tisthammer scored 19 points and Robert Abercrombie added 18 at Katella.

Foothill 70, El Modena 68 (OT)

Larry Cambra's three-pointer at
the buzzer sent the game into overtime, and Joe Henderson's two free
throws with one second left sealed the victory for Foothill (9-14, 4-3).
El Modena (11-11, 5-2) led by one in overtime with 29 seconds left
when Henderson was fouled and went one-for-two at the free-throw line
to tie the score, 68-68.

Villa Park 53, Orange 41

Alan Verzani scored 20 points and had 15 rebounds in the victory for Villa Park (16-7, 6-1). Alex Will scored 13 points for the Spartans.

Empire League

Kennedy 53, Cypress 45

Kennedy improved to 13-10 overall and 4-3 in league, while Cypress dropped to 7-15 overall and 2-5 in league. Jimmerson had 14 to lead Kennedy while Rea. Weaver had 13 for Cypress which played it's first game with new coach Jeff Russell following the resignation Monday of Frank Califano who quit "for personal reasons".

Katella 68, Loara 57

Tishammer had 19 points followed by Abercrombie with 18 for Katella which improved to 20-3 overall and 5-2 in league. Loarara dropped to 17-6 on the season and 4-3 in league and still remains well in contention for a playoff spot.

El Dorado 56, Century 52

Zoeller of Century scored three three-pointers in the loss for Century which dropped to 16-7 overall and 3-4 in league to remain tied with El Dorado in Empire league, also at 3-4. El Dorado improved to 14-8 overall. Gartner led for ED with 16 points.

Freeway League

Sonora 62, La Habra 49

Jeff Berokoff scored 19 points to lead the Raiders (20-4, 6-1) past the Highlanders (12-11, 4-3).

Troy 60, Sunny Hills 43

Scott Blake scored 20 points and Jerry Inzunza added 17 as Troy was victorious at Sunny Hills. Bim Okunrinboye led Sunny Hills with 20 points.

Fullerton 48, Buena Park 37

Fullerton was led by Bell with 19 points and outscored BP 20-9 in the fourth quarter to secure the win. Fullerton improved to 9-14 on the year and 3-4 in league while BP dropped to 8-14 and remained winless in league at 0-7.

Garden Grove League

Pacifica 74, Rancho Alamitos 44

The Mariners (19-4, 9-0) remained in first place with the victory at Rancho Alamitos (3-19, 2-8).

La Quinta 68, Los Amigos 39

La Quinta hit 8 three pointers in the game as Smith scored 23 points including 5 threes as LQ improved to 11-12 and 4-5 in league. Los Amigos dropped to 5-5 in league and believe it or not, remain ahead of LQ in league. Valenzuela led for LA with 19 points.

Bolsa Grande 96, Garden Grove 43

BG improved to 19-5 and 9-1 in league with the win, while GG remained mired in trouble with a record of 3-19 overall and 2-7 in league. James had 23 for BG while Duc Nguyen added another 19.

Golden West League

Ocean View 77, Westminster 32

Matt Kiemle's 17 points and Tony Dow's 14 paced the second-ranked Seahawks (17-4, 7-0) at Westminster (0-17, 0-7).

Tustin 53, Saddleback 41

Chris Chatman scored 15 points and Carlos Lua added 14 as Tustin (18-5, 5-2) pulled away late in the game for the victory. The score was tied at 32 with a little more than three minutes remaining, when the Tillers made two three-pointers to take a 38-32 advantage and Saddleback (7-16, 2-5) couldn't get any closer.

Servite 69, Santa Ana 47

Bill Hamilton's 16 points and four three-pointers led the sixth-ranked visiting Friars (17-5, 6-1).

Orange League

Magnolia 80, Western 52

Zamiro Bennem's 20 points led the fifth-ranked visiting Sentinels (20-3, 7-0).

Brea Olinda 92, Anaheim 53

Chris McMillan scored 20 points and had 13 assists in a victory for Brea Olinda (19-4, 5-2). Jeff Mason had nine points and 16 rebounds for the Wildcats. Rasuli Webster scored 15 points for Brea Olinda.

Savanna 82, Valencia 74

Will King scored 11 of his 27 points in the second quarter and sophomore Solomon Brown, a recent transfer from Ocean View, scored 20 for Savanna (11-12, 5-2).

Pacific Coast League

Aliso Niguel 68, Laguna Beach 56

Aliso Niguel led by five after the first half and pulled away in the third quarter by outscoring Laguna Beach, 21-10. Nathan Hair scored 20 points for Aliso Niguel (13-10, 4-3), and B.J. Jameson scored 21 for Laguna Beach (4-3 in league).

Laguna Hills 71, University 66

Bill Rietkerk scored 27 points and had nine rebounds for Laguna Hills (18-5, 5-2). Saia Makakaufaki scored 17 points for the Hawks.

Laguna Hills 71, University 65

The Hawks' Saia Makakaufaki signed a letter of intent Wednesday morning to play football at UCLA, then later that evening gave the Hawks basketball team an emotional lift and some clutch baskets and rebounds as Laguna Hills beat University at home. The Hawks took sole possession of first place in what is one of Orange County's most competitive leagues. Laguna Hills is 5-2 in league, and four teams are just one game behind at 4-3: Aliso Niguel, Estancia, Laguna Beach and University. University led in the first few minutes of the first quarter when Makakaufaki came off the bench to lead a Laguna Hills rally. His two free throws midway through the quarter put the Hawks on top, 10-9. He scored on an offensive rebound to make it 15-9 and then nailed a 16-footer for a 17-11 lead. The Hawks remained ahead until University took a brief one-point advanvantage late in the game. University's Jeff Groendel made a three-pointer with 55 seconds left to give the Trojans a 64-63 edge. Makakaufaki then was fouled in backcourt and made both free throws to put the Hawks ahead to stay, 65-64. Laguna Hill's Bill Rietkerk led the Hawks with a game-high 27 points, although he sat out a few minutes of the third quarter after turning his left ankle.

Estancia 83, Costa Mesa 62

See the separate report on this one for more details.

Sea View League

Newport Harbor 50, Santa Margarita 47.

In the season's biggest upset, Newport Harbor High's basketball team dethroned Orange County's top-ranked, undefeated Santa Margarita, 50-47. Before a wild crowd in their own gym, the Sailors (15-8, 4-3 in Sea View League) were in this game from the tipoff and erased a nine-point deficit early in the fourth quarter to mar the Eagles record, which now stands at 21-1, 6-1, and pull out the stunner. The Sailors have now toppled the county's No. 1 and No. 2 teams. Earlier this season, Newport defeated No. 2 Ocean View, 58-55. Beating Santa Margarita seemed unthinkable. Staying close with the lumbering Eagles seemed to be a stretch as Newport had fallen to them by 40 points in their first match this season

With tenacious defense, precise shot selection and as much heart as could fit into Reed Gymnasium, the Sailors worked evenly with the Eagles, who were trailing, 12-11, at the end of the first quarter after sophomore Dustin Illingworth canned a putback in the period's final second.

Senior Scott Archbold nailed a three-pointer and Carlos Nicasio snagged an offensive rebound and drilled it to help the hosts extend to an eight-point lead to open the second quarter. But Santa Marg's height advantage would stagger the Tars a bit, but not to the degree which it did in the teams' earlier meeting. Adam Hearlson (6'-7") and Nicasio (6'-5") both did really well in the post.

The biggest of the Eagle big men is 6'-7" senior Dekker McKeever, who resembles "Big Country" Reeves. McKeever grabbed six first-half boards and scored 12 points before the half, but it took a shot from just inside the half-court line by Carson Palmer to lift the Eagles to a 30-27 halftime lead.

Despite more dunks, blocks and putbacks by McKeever, who finished with a game-high 17 points, Nicasio and Hearlson were able to force him into fouling. The rest of the Newport unit scrambled after loose balls and long rebounds, and never quit. After a 12-point third quarter, Palmer seemed to take over the game.

Palmer, the CIF Southern Section Division V Offensive Player of the Year in football who is headed for USC, nailed a pair of threes to give Santa Margarita its greatest lead at 43-34 with just five minutes left. As his second consecutive three-pointer swished through the net and bounced to the floor, Hirst called a 20-second timeout which the referee mistook for a full. After arguing the matter, Hirst, whose squad was still standing, returned to huddle and gave this advice: "Talk your way through the screens down there. Move your feet on defense and rebound." That was it. Suddenly, the Tars exploded for a 12-2 run as Hearlson took a pass from Jameson for the easy two-footer, as Jameson drove the lane for a hoop, as Gary Robinson ripped a three, as Alan Limon went in for a fastbreak layup, as another three was drained by Robinson. McKeever reared his head again with yet another dunk, but Jameson answered with another drive.

With :07 remaining, Newport held a 48-47 lead. After a timeout, the Eagles inbounded the ball from under their own basket. Under pressure from Jameson, Santa Marg's Ryan Forehan-Kelly mishandled the ball and it rolled out of bounds. With the Sailor crowd already celebrating, Robinson was immediately fouled. He hit both ends of the one-and-one. Santa Marg's desperation shot fell short. "I've missed one of those before and I wasn't going to do it again," Robinson said of the clutch free throws. Jameson tallied a team-high 12 points and Robinson hit for nine, eight in the final period.

The scoring for Santa Margarita was Palmer with 15, Rohe 4, McKeever 17, Kramer 6, Forehan-Kelly 5. Newport Harbor was paced by Jameson with 12, Archbold 7, Illingworth 4, Robinson 9, Limon 8, Hearlson 6, Nicasio 4.

Corona del Mar 64, Irvine 46

To satisfy a hunger brought on by a five-game victory fast, the Corona del Mar High boys basketball team decided to feed the post Wednesday night. And while 6-foot-9 senior Alex Jekeli devoured his fair share of the glory in a 64-46 romp over visiting Irvine, there was plenty of morsels to savor for the rest of Coach Paul Orris' reshaped lineup. Jekeli, who left Friday's Sea View League loss to Woodbridge early to receive stitches in his chin, amassed a career-high 24 points, while adding 13 rebounds and two blocked shots. He connected on 8 of 13 field-goal attempts and drained 8 of 9 from the foul line.

Often plagued by foul trouble, the German exchange student had just one foul. His previous high game was 15 points in a December win over Paramount. Jekeli along with 6-6 Tim Thurman (seven points) was on the payoff end of a steam of passes from teammates Ryan Cooper (five assists), Andrew Simon (four), Nick Gabriel (three) and Dennis Alshuler (two).

CdM hit 10 of 13 from the field in a 22-point third period and shot 67% (14 of 21) from the field after intermission. CdM 24 of 45 for the game (55.6%). When Jekeli and Thurman weren't making them from in close, Gabriel, Simon, Shaffer and Cooper were connecting from three-point range, as the quartet combined to nail six three out of 12 three point attempts.

Irvine guard Chris Ferguson also struggled in this game with the pressure d. Coming in averaging 21.5 points per game, Ferguson managed just 14, hitting only 5 of 14 field-goal attempts and picking up two offensive fouls trying to pry himself from the incessant pressure.

The Sea Kings improved to 6-17 and 2-5 in league, and had three double-figure scorers for only the fourth time all season, the first time against Sea View league opponents. CdM led, 15-14, after the first, and went on an 11-1 run to jump out to a 26-19 edge midway through the second quarter. Irvine dropped to 13-10 and is now tied with CdM at 2-5 in league.

El Toro 70, Woodbridge 58

ET improved to 16-7 and 5-2 in league while Woodbridge dropped to 11-12 and 2-5 to go into a three-way tie with CdM and Irvine near the bottom of the Sea View League. Wulfemeyer had 21 points for ET.

South Coast League

San Clemente 74, Trabuco Hills 60

Semaj Johnson scored 14 of his 29 points in the first half when San Clemente (12-10, 3-4) outscored visiting Trabuco Hills (13-10, 4-3) by 11 points.

Capistrano Valley 59, Dana Hills 50

The Cougars (16-6, 5-2), behind Josh Garrett's 24 points and 20 rebounds, moved into a share of first place with the home victory over the Dolphins (12-11, 5-2). Capistrano Valley again did a so-so job of shooting free throws, but the Cougars grabbed an early cushion and tied up the South Coast League boys' basketball race with a 59-50 victory over visiting Dana Hills Wednesday.

Center Josh Garrett (24 points, 19 rebounds), guard Mike Stowell (13 points, 13 rebounds, four assists) and guard Jermaine McDaniel (12 points, six rebounds) led Capistrano Valley (16-6, 5-2). The Cougars made only 17 of 28 free throws, but used six of 10 in the final minute to seal the win. Capistrano Valley led by as many as 14 points in the second half, but Dana Hills (12-11, 5-2) trapped and fouled for the ball in the final three minutes. It was 55-50, with 40 seconds left after Johnny Shields' three-point basket, but two free throws each by Garrett and McDaniel sank the Dolphins.

Capistrano Valley held a 57-30 advantage on the boards. Larry Page scored 15 points and Tim McKee, who sat out a large portion of the first half in foul trouble, scored 13 for Dana Hills. Dana Hills went with shifting 1-2-2 and 2-3 zone offenses. The first time the teams played, Capistrano Valley had difficulty breaking the Dolphins' zones and Dana Hills won, 62-46. This time, the Cougars attacked from the top of the key, not the perimeter. "It was a trapping zone and we didn't do a good job of stopping the ball," Dana Hills Coach Mark Thornton said. "They're really quick and we dug ourselves a hole and couldn't get back."

Mater Dei 80, Mission Viejo 60

Mater Dei had a nice tune-up for Saturday's exhibition in the Nike Extravaganza III by easily handling MV. Steve Scoggin scored 21 points for the Monarchs. Mater Dei improved to 14-7 overall and 4-3 in league, the first time in 15 years that Mater Dei has not been in first place in league by this time in the season. MV dropped to 10-9 and remained winless in league at 0-7.

Sunset League

Los Alamitos 54, Fountain Valley 52

The Griffins (13-8, 5-2) took control of first place with the victory against the home Barons (12-9, 4-3). Garibay had 10 points while Komer scored 15 for Los Al.

Marina 53, Huntington Beach 52

Brown of Marina scored 10 points, while Austin led Marina with 13 points, as Marina improved to 11-12 and 4-3 to remain tied with Fountain Valley. HB dropped to 8-14 and 3-4 in league.

Edison 50, Esperanza 48

Edison improved to 4-3 in league and 12-8 overall while Esperanza remained mired in last with a 1-6 league record. Only Romberg for Esperanza scored in double figures with 16; the next highest scorer was D Brown, Wails, McCarty and Steven, all of whom had 6 points. For Edison, Kilian had 14 points.