SoCalHoops High School News

CIF-SS Boys Division IV-A Finals: Crossroads 63,
Orange Lutheran 57--(Mar. 5, 2000)

Who:  No. 2 Crossroads ( 22-9) v.  Orange Lutheran (24-4)
Where: The Arrowhead Pond of Anaheim
When:  9:00 a.m. |
What:  CIF Southern Section Division IV-A Championship

We were really crammed for time yesterday, so we just didn't get to post up the preview for this division, and by the time we had written it, the game was already half over.  So we just figured we'd just go with the final result, throw in a little bit of the preview material, the roster and the stats from the game and that would give everyone enough of a sense of what had happened.

To make it short and sweet, Crossroads won.  But that much you already knew.   Here's the preview contained in the official CIF program materials, written by Thom Simmons, CIF Southern Section sports information officer, followed by the game details, complete rosters and the bracket: 

Preview : 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 Sttate Boys Basketball Championships. Here's a closer look at these exciting matchups:

Two schools with varied pasts meet in the Division IVA final when Crossroads plays Orange Lutheran.  Orange Lutheran, the Olympic League Champion is looking for its first Southern Section boys basketball title. After beating Brentwood 74-53, Notre Dame Riverside 74-66, and St. Bonaventure 70-61, the Lancers upped their record to 24-4.  Guard Jason Whieldon averaged 26.5 ppg during the regular season and center Patrick Sayler averaged 13.8 ppg and 8.3 rpg for coach Shawn Cassidy's team.

Crossroads, the second seeded team in the bracket and the Delphic League Champion is seeking its eighth champinoship in school history.  The Roadrunners, coached by Daryl Roper, move to 22-9 and have been challenged strongly only by Milken in the tournament, pulling out a one point win, 63-62 in the semifinals.   Crossroads also picked up a win over Mary Star 83-47, and Silver Valley 70-43.   Leading the offense for the Roadrunners is senior guard Felipe Williams and junior forward/center Isaiah Fox.

And here's what happened in the game:

A tremendous third-quarter run by Crossroads and foul trouble on Orange Lutheran's go-to players was too much to handle as the Roadrunners defeated the Lancers, 63-57.  Crossroads won it's fourth title since 1992 and first since 1997 without Baron Davis. Isaiah Fox was the dominant player in the game, finishing with 23 points  and  13 rebounds.  The game was close for most of the first half, with Crossroads having a slight advantage and leading at halftime, 26-22, but then in the third, the Roadrunners went on a 10-2 run, including several tremendous dunks from Fox and Williams to take a 39-28 lead with 5:18 to play in the third quarter, one which saw Jason Whieldon, who ultimately finished with 18 points, pick up his fourth foul with about 4:30 in the quarter, requiring that he sit until midway through the fourth quarter. With the score 54-37, with a little under four minutes to go, the Lancers made their final move which turned into a 16-5 run, which put the score at 59-53 and Orange Lutheran still trailing with just about a minute and a half left to play.  And that was a close as it got for the Lancers, becauew with 1:33 showing on the clock, center Patrick Salyer, who fnished with 17 ponts,  fouled out, and 47 seconds later, Jason Whieldon, the Lancer's big shooting weapon, also fouled out.  Fox played very well, hitting 9 of 11 from the field, and was only covered by one player, despite some attempts to run a double-down against the 6-9" junior. Salyer, Orange Lutheran's 6-7 center, had trouble containing Fox. And while Whieldon led Orange Lutheran's scoring he was just 6 for 18 from the field, which was not one of his better outings, and likewise Salyer was only 5 for 17, and as a team, the Lancers shot just 33.3%.  The Lancers played without point guard Taylor Gavin, a key reserve who suffered a torn meniscus in his left knee during Monday's practice. Jordan Rush also played well for Crossroads, finishing with 12 points and Felipe Williams added 10 points and four assists for the Roadrunners.

Here's the box:

Orange Lutheran (57)

Total FG             1st Half     9/28   321    2nd Half    11/32     344    Game    20/605  333
3PT FG              1st Half    3/10   300    2nd Half     4/10      400    Game     7/20      350
Free Throws    1st Half    1/2     500     2nd Half    9/15      600      Game   10/17    571

Crossroads (63)

Total FG             1st Half     11/29  379    2nd Half    14/25    560    Game    25/54   333
3PT FG              1st Half    1/4     250    2nd Half     0/0        000     Game    1/4         250
Free Throws    1st Half    3/4     750     2nd Half    9/16     562      Game   12/20    600

Here are the complete rosters:

And finally, here's a look at the bracket:

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