SoCalHoops CIF State Tournament News

SoCal CIF State Regional Semifinals:
Boys & Girls D-I Games--(Mar. 11,  2000)

Here's what we know happened last night in Divison I in the Boys and Girls brackets,  respectively, in the SoCal CIF State Regional Tournament. 

Boys Division I Semifinals

Mater Dei 72, Westchester 64--If we could have been at one game all year, then this was the game to be at, and we weren't sorry we made the trip.  Cedric Bozeman, in perhaps his best performance as a high school player, shot 13 for 22 for the night, got 5 assists and 2 steals, and hit for 33 points and personally lifted Mater Dei back into the finals today at the Great Western Forum at 8:00 p.m. tonight against Clovis West.  Of course, he also had a little help from Jamal Sampson who blocked 6 shots, and had 11 rebounds, and Harrison Schaen, who blocked three, and grabbed 7 rebounds and from everyone else who played last night for Mater Dei.  And this was no easy win either. 

Westchester, a team that starts three sophomores in Brandon Heath, Ashanti Cook and Keith Everage, and brings another in off the bench in Jason McKinney, led at the half 37-34, and they led at the end of three 51-49.  But in the end it was the final score which really mattered as Mater Dei outscored the Comets 23-13 in the crucial fourth quarter.  In the fourth quarter, Westchester got plenty of looks and took a lot of shots, but they just didn't fall and were rushed as Mater Dei again reeled off an unanswered 8-0 run early in the fourth. When Westchester (24-7) missed four shots on the same possession, Mater Dei center Jamal Sampson, who played incredibly well when he got to play (which was not a lot in the first half after picking up his third personal early in the second quarter) finally came down with a rebound and was fouled. He made one of two free throws to put the Monarchs ahead. Sampson picked up his fourth foul on a charging call early in the third quarter. Seven of his 11 points came on free throws.   Sampson, usually a poor free-throw shooter, made six of 10 shots from the line in the last 4:50 to help seal the victory. 

Steve Scoggin, who committed to UNLV last week,  scored 14 points and Christian McGuigan hit a three-pointer early in the fourth quarter. Westchester was led by Brandon Heath with 17 and Jason Breland with 23, and for most of the game it looked as though they were going to pull off the win.  But after scoring effectively during the first half, they went cold in the third quarter, going on a stretch where they didn't score for almost 5 minutes, and then again in the fourth, failing to score for almost 4 minutes. After Mater Dei guard Ricky Porter scored on a putback midway through the third quarter to put the Monarchs ahead,  44-40, Westchester went on a 9-0 run sparked by a Breland steal and dunk.  Mater Dei came back to tie the score, 49-49, on a spectacular baseline drive and jam by Bozeman. After Breland converted a putback, the Monarchs went on a 7-0 run. McGuigan's three-pointer put Mater Dei ahead, 56-51, and Scoggin followed with a layup for a 58-51 advantage. 

When Mater Dei plays Clovis West tonight, it will be their first time ever playing in the Great Western Forum.  We'll have more observations later on some of the invididual performances in this game later, but for now we just don't have much time to write anything. . . gotta get going to see all the rest of the games today. . . . Westchester scoring:  Ashanti Cook 2,  Brandon Heath 17, Chad Bell 2, Keith Everage 2, Jason Breland 23, Jason McKinney 5, Cedric Tompkins 4, Brice Buchanan 4. Mater Dei scoring:  Mike Strawberry 3,  Rickey Porter 6, Jamal Sampson 11, Cedric Bozeman 33, Steve Scoggin 14, Christian McGuigan 3, Harrison Schaen 2. Westchester 16 21 14 13--64   Mater Dei 19 15 15 23--72; Three pointers: Westchester 3 (Heath 1, McKinney 1, Breland 1); Mater Dei 4 (Bozeman 2, Scoggin 1, McGuigan 1). Technical fouls:  Bell, Everage. Fouled out: Bell. Records: Westchester 24-7, Mater Dei 34-1. [Note, we'll have the full box, with scoring percentages, assists, steals, blocks, rebounds, etc, but for now we don't have the time. . . gotta run to Rockfish, then Double Pump, then the Forum, then the Pyramid. . . sheesh].

Clovis West 90, Long Beach Poly, 68--Since we weren't there, much of this account comes from those who were, i.e., the Fresno Bee, the LA Times (which actually probably wasn't there, given their limited account of the game), and from a "friend" who e-mailed us some stuff. . . . Here's what we know: Clovis West took the lead early , but really started to dominate midway through the first half and cruised to a 90-68 victory over Long Beach Poly in a Southern California Regional boys' basketball semifinal Friday at Clovis West.  Tyrone Jackson, a junior guard, scored 25 points to lead the Golden Eagles, who will face Mater Dei in tonight's final at the Great Western Forum.

Charlie Rodriguez, the 6'-9" sophomore center, had 24 and Chris Hernandez, the very talented junior point guard, added 16.  With about four seconds to go in the second quarter Friday night, Chris Hernandez made a driving layup to give the third-seeded Golden Eagles a 44-27 lead over No. 2 seed Long Beach Poly. Hernandez added 3 of 5 free throws on a potential seven-point play.   The Eagles took command of their 20th consecutive victory in probably less time than it took the Jackrabbits, ranked No. 5 in the state, to stop for a bite to eat in Bakersfield before arriving at the Clovis West gym at 6:15 p.m. -- an hour and 15 minutes before game time.   Poly, which beat Clovis West 61-59 in overtime in a December tournament, stayed with the Eagles for most of the first quarter, but the Jackrabbits were visibly fatigued by the second quarter.  Jackson scored 16 of his game-high 25 points in the first half.   Jackson's 3-pointer from the right wing with 1:57 left in the first quarter gave the Eagles the lead for good at 13-10.  Then, with three players each making a 3-pointer, Clovis West took control with a 13-2 run to go up 37-21 with 2:55 left in the first half.  Charlie Rodriguez scored 24 points and Hernandez finished with 13, including 9 of 12 free throws, for the Eagles, who pulled within one victory of tying the state record.  Wesley Stokes, who fouled out on a technical with 16 seconds, had 15 points and Markee White scored 13 for the Jackrabbits.  At 38-2, Clovis West is the state leader of modern times, according to Central Section historian Bob Barnett. Lodi won 39 games in 1911.  The Eagles also moved to No. 2 on the state's all-time scoring list with 3,267 points, and with eight 3-pointers, set a section record with 237 in a season.  The Eagles, ranked No. 6 in the state and No. 13 in the nation, play top-seeded Mater Dei (Santa Ana), a 72-64 winner over Westchester (Los Angeles), at 8:15 tonight at the Great Western Forum.  Clovis West, which lost to Mater Dei in the 1995 Division I regional championship game, 78-51, improved to 37-2.  

Girls Division I Scores--First Round

Narbonne 70, Long Beach Wilson 40--Narbonne, ranked No. 1 in the nation by USA Today, opened a 12-0 lead in the first 4:07 and coasted to a 70-40 victory at Narbonne in the Division I semifinals of the Southern California Regional playoffs.  Narbonne will play Hanford, which defeated Lynwood, 57-52, in double-overtime Friday, in the regional final tonight at the Great Western Forum.   Wilson (30-5) had seven turnovers before Dawn McCullouch scored the Bruins' first points on a layup with 2:42 remaining in the first quarter.  Wilson trailed, 23-6, by the end of the first quarter and the undefeated Gauchos (32-0) stretched their lead to 37 points midway through the fourth quarter.  Narbonne's Ebony Hoffman, a 6-2 senior who has signed a letter of intent with USC, finished with 17 points and 13 rebounds.   Narbonne, the City Section champion, also forced 27 turnovers with a steady stream of defensive pressure.

Hanford 57, Lynwood 52 (2OT)--Jenny Thigpin made two free throws with 13.3 seconds remaining to put the final touch on a dramatic see-saw game between two evenly matched teams before a full house at the 1,900-seat capacity Hanford gym.  It also sent the Bullpups on a long bus trip today to the Great Western Forum in Ingelwood for tonight's Southern Regional Division 1 final.   In a 6:30 p.m. game that will send one team to next week's state championship game, Hanford will face Narbonne of Harbor City, the same Narbonne team that defeated Hanford 63-39 in December, a team that has won 32 games this season without a loss to be ranked No. 1 in the state.  Hanford's strength is inside with Shawntinice Polk who last night scored 20 points and grabbed 18 rebounds. Amy Parrish scored 13 points with nine rebounds.  But the Bullpups had to handle the defensive pressure of the quicker Knights, who kept the tempo at a high speed, leading to 60 turnovers in the game, 30 by each team.  Hanford dominated early, bolting to an 11-2 lead, but Bullpups turnovers allowed the Knights to cut the lead to 13-10 at the end of the period. Baskets by Janice Bright and Willnet Crockett in the final minute of the half gave Lynwood a 30-28 lead.   Switching from a man defense to a matchup zone, Hanford took control in the third quarter, bolting to a 41-34 lead. Lynwood battled back to tie the score 46-46 on a driving basket by LaConia Hatcher to send the game into overtime.  Turnovers and missed free throws marked the first overtime with Hanford scoring first on two free throws by Parrish and Hatcher tying it at 48 on a drive with 26 seconds left.  Tara Chennault opened the scoring with a basket off the tipoff, and Hanford never trailed again. But seven missed free throws in the final 2 minutes 33 seconds kept Hanford from putting the game away earlier.  

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