SoCalHoops Showcase News

NorCal No. 1 De La Salle
Beats Mater Dei--(Feb. 5, 2000)

We'll get right to the point: Mater Dei lost this one, and De La Salle (18-1, and ranked No. 1 in NorCal) definitely won it.  Not just a win, but a convincing win.  Of course Mater Dei was without Christian McGuigan and Jamaal Sampson, and both of these teams will be looking for the rematch at the State Tournament. . . if they can both stay healthy through the next month. . . But we're getting way ahead of ourselves.  Here's what happened tonight:

DLS broke out to a 10-2 lead, and then extended it to 12-5 after a couple of baskets by Cedric Bozeman.  DLS was getting most of it's initial production from Joe See's and Chris Schlatter's shots from the top of the key and the perimeter, and some great rebounding inside.. Harrison Schaen (6'-8" Fr. F) looked like he was going to be pretty effective, but picked up an early foul and then another early in the game, and he and Steve Scoggin seemed to not be comunicating too well, at least not as well as they should have been.  Scoggin looked inside to pass the ball to Schaen who was posting,  but then looked to shoot and jumped as if he was going to make the shot;  not surprisingly, Harrison turned to get the rebound, but in mid-air, Scoggin changed his mind and decided to pass the ball to the back of Harrison's head, and other than some really spectacular play from Mike Strawberry, including one tremendous offensive rebound and slam dunk where Mike was actually about two feet above the rim, this seemed to typify what was happening in this game.  Mater Dei was just out of synch, and never quite took over the way they have done in so many other games.  Even though they kept hanging back throughout the first and second quarters, the great play of Cedric Bozeman and James Webster coming in off the bench with a huge key block , managed to pull Mater Dei to within 2 by the end of the first quarter, 10-12, DLS leading, and kept them in it throughout the second half.  

We haven't seen Frank Alloco coach this season, and we'd forgotten how much fun it is to watch some of the better coaches from NorCal.   Alloco, like Don Lippee is like having a sixth man on the floor, stomping, shouting, running up and down the sidelines, very energetic, animated, demanding and in control of his team and directing the course of the action.  And with smart players like Joe See, Chris Schlatter, Matt Gutierrez, and point guard Charles Brown, it's a pleasure to watch him coach, and very entertaining.  

With 3:46 to play in the first half, Mater Dei had crept back into it on a couple more baskets by Bozeman and two key free throws by Steve Scoggin to tie the game at 16-16.  But at the end of the half, with just 2 seconds on the clock, and the game tied at 18, Joe See hit a fall away desperation three-pointer, a truly amazing shot even for an amazingly talented shooter like Joe,  to take the lead at 18-21 DLS.

The third quarter had both teams playing tight, but DLS ultimately led after three again by three, and then with the game on the line and Mater Dei continuing to hang around through the first four minutes of the fourth, DLS broke out to a 44-37 lead behind Schlatter's rebounding and great offensive put backs and 10' pull up jumpers.  The only thing keeping Mater Dei in the game was the fouling that DLS doing, and they were called for so many during the second half, in fact a 7-1 differential with 4:15 to play in the fourth, that there was no question the refs were giving Mater Dei the benefit of the doubt.   But even then, Mater Dei got no help.  We actually can't remember a worse free throw shooting night for a Mater Dei team, at least not in recent memory when the game counted.  7 of 15 in the second half, and only shot 59% from the line overall compared to DLS' 76.5%.

With just under three minutes to play, DLS had pulled out to a 49-40 lead behind the great three point shooting of Chris Hodoh and Chris Schlatter's pull up jumpers.  But with Mater Dei trailing by 7, with just 1:12 to play in the game, Schlatter fouled out and Guttierrez came in .   Mikey Strawberry, who was sent to the line for the foul call, missed both free throws, and that seemed to take just about all the gas out of Mater Dei.  DLS went to spread the floor with under a minute to play, but somehow MD managed to make a couple more shots, and pulled to within 46-51 with 29.3 seconds and Ricky Porter at the line. Again, with a chance to pull to within three, enough time to get the ball to a shooter like Scoggin, Mater Dei couldn't convert at the charity stripe, and Porter missed both, and MD was forced to foul DLS just to stop the clock, and each time DLS was smart enough to inbound the ball to their best shooter, Joe See, who was fouled twice, making three of four free throw attempts, to bring the score to 46-54, with just under 10 seconds to play.  Mater Dei managed to get the ball back again, and with 7.8 seconds Steve Scoggin hit a three and it was 49-54, and MD called a timeout.  Enough time?   Maybe in the NBA, but this is high school, and things didn't look good.

DLS brought the ball in and with just one tick off the clock,  the time reading 6.8 seconds to play, Strawberry was again forced to foul See.   Joe went to the line, missed the first, made the second, and that was just about it.   Somehow Scoggin not only was able to attempt a three in those final seconds, but when his shot missed, he got the rebound, and hit a last second put back off the missed three pointer which brought the score to 51-55 at the final buzzer.

DLS, the No. 1 team in NorCal had managed to knock off arguably the No. 1 Division I team in SoCal.

Total FG    1st Half     7 / 23    304    2nd Half     11 / 21    524    Game     18 / 44    409
3 PT FG    1st Half    2 / 11    182     2nd Half    4 / 7    571     Game    6 / 18    333
Free Throws    1st Half    5 / 5    1000     2nd Half     8 / 12    667     Game 1 / 17    765

Total FG    1st Half     6 / 17    353    2nd Half     11 / 24    458    Game     17 / 41    415
3PT FG    1st Half    0 / 4    000     2nd Half    4 / 9    444     Game     4 / 13    308
Free Trhows    1st Half    6 / 7     857     2nd Half    7 /15  467    Game 13 / 22    591

Score by Quarters:

 
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