socal classic dominguez game

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SoCalHoops High School News

SoCal Classic: Dominguez Beats
Roman Catholic--(Jan. 30, 2000)

Well, we finally watched the tape, and while it wasn't the most exciting game we've seen Dominguez play all year, it was a convincingly good performance by the Dons, who beat visiting Roman Catholic 80-59, even as Eddie Griffin (6'-9" Sr. F) who has signed with Seton Hall hit for 29 points, three above his current average. Griffin also had 8 blocked shots, and generally was the only offensive force on the entire Roman Catholic team, and he had 18 of those points in the first half.

This was actually a pretty good game thorugh the first half, and Roman Catholic came back from trailing 12-2 early in the first quarter and made it a game to close to 26-26 with 3:27 to play in the second quarter. RC also caught a break when Tyson Chandler (7'-0" Jr. C) picked up his third foul early in the second quarter and had to sit. But then even without Tyson in the game, Dominguez' depth really helped as Keith Brooks, Darius Sanders, and Sherman Gay took over, and by the end of the first half, the score was 38-30 Dominguez. Brooks had 10 points in the first half and Tyson had 6.

The first three minutes of the third quarter looked like it was going to be more of the same, as Griffin hit a three, and then RC's point guard, Michael Wild popped a three, followed by some key defensive stops by Tamal Forchion and John Huggins, and RC was still in it, and they tied it at 42-42. But then Dominugez went on a 20-3 scoring run and by the end of the third quarter, RC had committed something like 15 turnovers, about half of those unforced, and Dominguez had stretched the lead to an insurmountable 62-45. The fourth quarter was just more of the same and while Tyson fouled out with about four minutes to play and Darius Sanders fouled out shortly thereafter with about 3:30 to play, it didn't matter as Dominguez just had a commanding lead and Roman Catholic never really challenged.

Essentially, Roman Catholic, currently ranked No. 25 by USA Today is a good high school team, really actually an excellent team that was probably a bit plagued by the jet lag, and considering that the game wasn't slated to start until about 11:00 p.m. EST, it didn't help that they were playing until well after midnight, and by the third quarter it was clear that the Dons wer fresher, deeper and just that much better as a team.

So now it will be Dominguez' turn to see if they can challenge a higher ranked national team next weekend at the Pyramid, as the Dons will take on Oak Hill Academy on Saturday, February 5, at 9:00 p.m. in the premier game of the final showcase event of the regular season, the 5th Annual Nike Extravaganza. We'll have much more on that one in the upcoming week, so check back for more details on that one. Following the Nike Extravaganza, it's on to the playoffs. . .