SoCalHoops High School News

CIF-SS Div. III-AA Finals: Bishop Montgomery 59,
Compton Centennial 43--(Mar. 4, 2000)

Who: No. 1 Bishop Montgomery (24-5) v. No. 7 Compton Centennial (17-12)
Where:  Loyola Marymount University
What: CIF Southern Section Division III-AA Championship
Time:  8:30 p.m.
Date:  March 3, 2000

In our preview we wrote: "If you're looking for an all-out war, and a fast paced game with excellent big men, and quick, high scoring guards, then this is a game you don't want to miss."  And we were only half right.

What an amazing display of talent this game was.   Speed, quickness, great ball-movement, strictly man defense, lots of up and down the floor, two teams playing flat-out pedal-to-the-metal basketball.  It was all that and more as Errick and Derrick Craven and the rest of the Knights simply dominated the Apaches from start to finish, but especially Errick and Derrick, who between them scored 28, but whose other tangible and intangible contributions simply elevated this team to a level beyond Centennial.  In our view, there's no doubt who the No. 1 seed will be in the State Tournament, and we're going to predict that Bishop is the odds on favorite to take the State title.  Sure Washington Union with it's new-found sense of discipline and DeShawn Stevenson will be looking for the Knights, who beat the Panthers by 22 points on February 17 at the Double Pump Hoop Challenge, but in our view Bishop is still clearly the better team overall and the odds-on favorites.

In this game, Bishop jumped out to an 18-9 first quarter lead, and other than a non-productive third quarter in which the two teams, like two punch-drunk fighters banged out a total of 16 points between them, a quarter in which Centennial didn't score until the last two minutes and in which Ellis Myles had all of Centennial's 9 points, this was a pretty exciting game to watch.  Errick Craven had a team high 16 points, while brother Derrick finished with 12, but it was Derrick who had the move of the night. . . . no, make that the move of the playoffs, when he crossed over a Centennial defender while dribbling just above the free throw line and then exploded to the basket.   It was the quickest, meanest crossover, and so blindingly fast that it had the fans from both schools standing, pointing, ooohing and ahhing, clapping and high-fiving, and wishing there was an instant replay. . . . too bad this game wasn't at the Pond.  The Cravens can play with anyone, anywhere, any time, and they are, without a doubt, two of the best players in this amazing class of 2001.  Errick has also vastly improved his guard skills and as quick as he is at handling the ball off the dribble, he's also gotten that quick with his passes in the lane, finiding open men for the easy basket.

We don't mean to gush all over your computers about the twins because of course, this game wasn't all about the Cravens, and the rest of the Bishop Montgomery team, including Kenny D'Oyen who had some very nice runners, and one of the most comical moments of the night too, as early in the first quarter, Kenny drove the lane, and got called for a charge on Ellis Myles. . . now we'll believe little Kenny knocking down a lot of players his own size, but Ellis Myles?  6'-7" and 250 lbs (at least)?   Ellis gets the Academy Award, the Emmy, the Tony, and every other acting award you might name for that one.  It was hilarious.  Devaughn Peace, Brian Pruitt, and Fred Washington, were the other Bishop Montgomery guys who got the majority of the minutes, and they all contributed, with the three of them usually collapsing on Myles every time he touched the ball, and in fact it was a tribute to Ellis that he managed to be the game's high scorer with all three of them draped on him like a bad suit (geez did we actually just use that allusion?)  

Centennial is this year's bad boyz, the team that a lot of people just love to dislike, and there was a lot of that kind of buzz about this team.   A team that forfeited 5 games for using ineligible players, who had submitted faulty paperwork after transferring to Centennial.  And there was Omar Weaver, sitting at the end of the Centennial bench, in street clothes, a CIF team credential hanging around his neck, and wondering what might have been. . . . In any event, no matter how much some may dislike what happened at Centennial this season, this was a tough, talented team, that just didn't manage to play up to it's potential last night. That is all but Ellis Myles, who probably over-achieved a bit, finishing with a game high 27 points.  But Ellis' points, all from inside the paint and all with three or more Knights all over him, were not enough to keep the Apaches in the game, as only one other Centennial player (Eric Alvarez with 7) had anywhere even close to double digits.  In fact only five players scored for Centennial, which was a credit to Bishop's smothering man-defense. 

Here's a look at the box:

Bishop Montgomery (59)

Total FG             1st Half     12/26    462    2nd Half     8/21    381    Game     20/47    426
3PT FG              1st Half    3/7        429     2nd Half    1/7      143      Game    4/14      286
Free Throws    1st Half    6/13       462    2nd Half    9/12     750     Game    15/25    600

Compton Centennial (43)

Total FG             1st Half     7/22      318    2nd Half     6/23    261    Game   13/45      289
3PT FG              1st Half    2/7        286     2nd Half    0/9      000     Game    2/16       125
Free Throws    1st Half    3/6         500    2nd Half     12/20  600    Game   15/26       577

Score by quarters:

Here's another look at the rosters, just to keep straight who was there:

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