SoCalHoops High School News

Boys Division IV-AA Final: Serra 72,
St. Bernard 58--(Mar. 4, 2000)

Who:  Serra (14-15) v. St. Bernard (22-7)
Where: The Arrowhead Pond of Anaheim
When: 10:45 a.m. .
What:  CIF Southern Section Division IV-AA Championship

Because we just flat ran out of time this morning to complete the previews for the first two games today at the Pond, the two D-IV finals (IV AA between Serra and St. Bernard, and IV A between Crossroads and Orange Lutheran) we'll do a sort of combined "preview" and game report with the results, stats, the preview info from the program and an updated bracket.  So here goes:

Preview Info:

With a field of 312 teams now narrowed down to 18, nine titles will be awarded in the 2000 version of th eCIF Southern section Boys Basketball Championships.  There will be those looking to repeat and those hoping to make history for their schools. There are traditional powerhouses, and those beginning traditinos.  When play begings at the Arrowhead Pond of Anaheim and at Gersten Pavilion at Loyola Marymount University, not only with Southern Section Champions be crowned, but teams will be looking for momentum to carryinto the CIF State Boys Basketball Championships. Here's a closer look at these exciting matchups:

A pair of unseeded teams will battle for the Division IVAA crown, as Serra takes on St. Bernard.  Serra, the Del Rey League No. 4 entry, looks to win the school's second consecutive boys basketball title.  The Cavaliers, coached by Dwan Hurt, defeated Duarted 80-62, No. 1 seed Marshall 78-50, and No. 4 seed Twentynine Palms 65-53 on the road to the final.  Serra with a record of 14-15 will be led by Aerick Sanders (6'-9' Sr. C) who has signed with San Diego State, and by Doyle Cole (6'-6" Sr. SG/SF) who is unsigned.

St. Bernard is another team having to go the unseeded route to reach the divisional championship game.  The No. 3 entry from the Del Rey League, the Vikings moved to 22-7 with tournament wins over St. Joseph Santa Maria 83-52, Oak Park 70-67, and Rosamond 63-60.  Robert Alaniz's squad led by Brandon Williams who averaged 18.8 ppg this season, hopes to take it's first title since 1996.

That was the preview stuff. . . Obviously, St. Bernard didn't take it's second title in the last four years. . . Serra won, and they did it in convincing fashion, as they broke out to a 13-8 first quarter lead, and then extended that to lead 32-24 at the half.  In the third quarter, Serra again extended the lead, outscoring the Vikings 18-11 to finish the quarter with a 50-35 lead.  And despite a furious fourth quarter, which saw St. Bernard score 23 points, Serra countered with 22 points of their own.

Doyle Cole played a great game, leading all scorers with 26 points, 15 in the second half, and D.J. Wyatt scored 19 points, shooting 6 for 9 from the field and 2 for 3 from three point range.  Aerick Sanders only scored 15 points, but he was 7 for 9 from the field and he led both teams with 12 rebounds in 24 minutes of time. 

St. Bernards was led by  Brandon Williams with 18 points and Geoffrey Hooker with 10.  We'll post the box score up later (when we can get to a better keyboard with a number pad on it instead of having to use the top row of number keys on this portable. . . ). We'll also post the complete rosters for both teams later, so check back in a few hours.

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