pmk202.htm

SoCal High School & Prep Report

Pat McKinney: USDHS 81,
Morse 58--(February 2, 1998)

Our friend and San Diego correspondent Pat McKinney covered USDHS' Friday night game against Morse High School. And if our information is correct, as noted by Pat, this was a non-league game. Morse plays in the CIF San Diego City Conference's Eastern League, with schools such as Kearny, Mira Mesa, Patrick Henry, Point Loma, San Diego High, and Serra. USDHS, on the other hand, plays in the San Diego City Conference's Western Athletic League against such schools as Academy of Our Lady of Peace (and we're not sure that their league affiliation covers boys' basketball--any help on this one?), La Jolla High, Mission Bay, Scripps Ranch, St. Augustine, and University City High (not to be confused with USDHS). In any event, here's Patrick's take on this non-league contest. We'll also have some news on Luke's progress from another Dons fan, Chuck Hicks, but that'll come a bit later. And as always, please be sure to visit the USDHS Basketball Site for additional information on the Dons.

Dons Rolling

Morse No Match in Non-League Battle
USDHS 81, Morse 58

By Patrick McKinney
USDHS Dons' Website

Size is difficult to match up with if you don't have it and the University of San Diego High School Dons used their height to exploit Morse 81-58 in a non-league game last night. Morse crashed the offensive boards and used their quickness but the USDHS passing game and Luke Walton were simply too good.

Both teams started out cold and the game remained scoreless after two and a half minutes. Uni had an emotional win over Lincoln the night before and Morse was coming off a 78-63 win over Mira Mesa. Morse opened the scoring with 5:30 left and took off to a 5-2 lead as their quick defense forced several turnovers and prevented the Dons from even getting a shot at the basket. That is when Arizona-bound Luke Walton got into it and took over. Point guard David Abramowitz and shooting guard Carlos Congfound Luke inside for a couple of easy baskets and the Dons wound up ahead 13-11 after the first.

Coach Tomey inserted Sophomore Chris Walton and he was outstanding. Playing an inside out game with Luke, both players found some easy looks. Morse had no one bigger than 6'2" inside and the 6'7 and 6'8 Waltons had no trouble going right over them. The Dons went up by 10 and Morse started launching a barrage of threes. They gave up their set offense in the last three minutes of the half and it seemed to work. Shooting a dozen threes in that time period and crashing the boards, Morse climbed to within 6 at the half. Luke led all scorers with 14 points and 5 rebounds and Chris scored 10 to go with 4 boards. Friday's star, Ronnie McMillan scored 7 in the first half, but it was clear he had spent himself the night before. Talented guard Patrick Robinson led Morse with 10 points and 5 rebounds at the half.

USDHS put it all together in the third quarter as their defense clamped down and Abramowitz started scoring or finding the open man. Morse's lack of size allowed Abramowitz to penetrate and score or dish off for the easy bucket. Morse scored in the beginning of the quarter and would not score again for over six minutes as Uni ran them out of the gym. Abramowitz lit it up, going 7 for 10 in the quarter and leading the Dons on a 27-6 run, putting them up 60-33 after three.

Morse's starters couldn't hit their shots, so Coach Caviola inserted Jason Mason and it is still a mystery why he took him out. Mason scored 9 points, including a three and an offensive rebound, in just three minutes, making him Morse's second leading scorer. Morse made a few mini runs, but never got closer than 17 down the stretch. Unfortunately, Morse's coach was ejected midway through the fourth for something he said to the referee. No one in the stands heard it, but he may have to miss Morse's big league game with Serra next week.

Morse was led by Robinson, who scored 20 to go with 8 rebounds and 4 steals. Jarel Cherry scored 8 and Andrew Gabriel pulled down 6 rebounds (5 offensive). Morse did not shoot well (32%, 21 for 66) but pulled down 17 offensive boards.

USDHS shot 60% (31 for 52) for the game, led by 23 points, 10 rebounds, 5 assists, and 4 blocks from Luke Walton. Abramowitz scored 20 and recorded 9 more assists. Dave's 2 three pointers in this game broke his own school record for threes in a season with 46 and we still have a lot of games to play. Chris Walton finished with 12 points and 7 rebounds, while McMillan pulled down 9 boards to go wit his 9 points.

For the full stats in the game, click here.

Uni will get a well-deserved rest period this week before taking on St. Augustine Friday night at USD. All aspects of the game are starting to come together for the Dons and they are finding many different scoring sources. It will be interesting to see how these Catholic school rivals have come along during the season and if Saints can bounce back from tough losses to USDHS, Lincoln, and UC.