SoCalHoops Playoff News

CIF-SS IV-AA Preview: El Segundo v.
Twentynine Palms--(Feb. 25, 2002)

We're down to the next to the last two games in Division IV-AA before Friday night's finals.  And no, we're not jumping around in the brackets, but there are only five that will be playing the semifinals tomorrow night (I-AA, I-A, II-AA, IV-AA and V-AA), and the rest won't play until Saturday or Friday.

The finals for IV-AA (and IV-A and both of the V's) will be at LMU on Friday, but don't ask us what time, at least not yet:   According to the CIF-SS office, the times for the finals in Divisions IV and V at LMU on Friday (and the finals in Divisions I, II and III at the Pond on Saturday) have not yet been set.  The times for the finals will be announced on Wednesday, February 27, 2001.  Until then, we just won't know.

But we do know when the semifinals take place.   Here is a brief look at the semifinal game in the upper half of the bracket, El Segundo v. Twentynine Palms HS.

No. 1 El Segundo v. Twentynine Palms
Time: 7:30 p.m.
Place:  Yucca Valley HS (Alternate Site)

The No. 1-seeded El Segundo Eagles (26-3) beat Brentwood last Friday night to move into the semifinals against Twentynine Palms (20-6) who knocked off the No. 4 seed Chaminade Eagles in the other quarterfinal contest on Friday, and TP won the right to host the game, so El Segundo will be headed out to the desert, specifically Yucca Valley HS, the site of Tuesday night's game.

El Segundo features two of the more talented players in this division, both seniors, Dashawn Strong (6'-5" Sr. C/F) and Jeramie Hopson (6'-3" Sr. G/F), both of whom can slash to the hole, or shot from outside with equal ease.  Strong has been the engine that has made the team go inside, and while he's had some assistance from Steve Urrutia (6'-5" Jr. C) and Mike Smith (6'-6" Sr. C), he's accounted for most of the offensive production, and is a huge leaper and jumper. In terms of guards, in addition to Hopson, the Eagles have guys like Mike McCullough, Dave Cryan, Aaron Berger, Deandre Mathieu, Tino Gomez, Ron Hogan, Dustin Russell and Mike Lebow, all of whom are either 6'-0 or 6'1", either seniors or juniors, and all experienced.  Oh, we also don't want to forget Shawn Kemp (6'-3" Sr. F/C) who at 220 pounds can also eat up some space and rebound too.    El Segundo finished second in the crowded Ocean League, behind Compton Centennial, and the fact that the Eagles had to play them twice, in league (losing both times, but not by huge margins), is a testament to how tough this team really is and why they were ranked No. 1 in the division all season long.

Twentynine Palms has it's own version of an athletic wing who can fill up the basket in Ken Randle (6'-5" Sr. F), a 195 pound scorer and rebounder, and they've also got some other size inside with guys like Sean O'Gilvie (6'-5" So. F), Chris Johnson (6'-7" Jr. C) and Jon Cooley (6'-6" Sr. F).   In terms of guard play, TP features Ray Hester (6'-0" Sr. G), Paul Barraza (5'-10" Sr. G), and Bryan Cromwell (5'-11" Jr. G) among the starters who led the Wildcats to a 17-6 regular season record and a 12-2 league finish in the DeAnza League.  They also start Layton "Dynamite"  Matthews (6'-3" Jr. F), who has been known to knock down a shot or two.  Actually Matthews is the leading scorer for Twentynine Palms, and he had 23 points and 21 rebounds and hit the winning free throw in the final seconds of overtime in Friday's win over Chaminade, a 63-62 thriller.

El Segundo played a reasonably aggressive non-league and tournament schedule, and they're certainly familiar with teams from the desert, having beaten Granite Hills, Silverado, Sultana and Barstow, as well as some non-desert teams like St. Monica, Lake Elsinore, and others.  The Eagles traveled up to Bakersfield Garces for a round-robin tournament at the end of December, and beat a very tough San Joaquin Memorial team, which featured freshman point guard sensation Dwain Williams and senior scoring standout and high-D-I prospect Antonio Lawrence, a 6'-5" pure athlete.  Oh, and did we mention those league games against Compton Centennial, which is probably the only team still undefeated in the State?  This Eagle team has played a lot of tough competition.

Twentynine Palms, on the other hand, has played mostly teams from San Bernardino and Riverside, in fact, we can't find a team not from that area whom they've played:  Hesperia, Big Bear, Banning, Notre Dame (Riverside), Beaumont, Colton, Rubidoux, Hemet, Moreno Valley, Palm Springs, Aquinas, San Jacinto, Granite Hills, Yucca Valley....really, Twentynine Palms has stuck with mostly local teams, and played twice in Yucca Valley's gym, so they should feel right at home on Tuesday night.  And El Segundo gets the long trip there and back, so that has to count for something if you're a 29 Palms fan.....

From our perspective, we have no idea who should win this one, and both teams matchup fairly evenly.  So you pick 'em.  Again, there are two bad things about this game from our perspective:  1.  Someone has to lose, and 2. We won't be able to be there to see it. Good luck to everyone, including the seniors who may be playing for the last time in their high school careers.

Here are the rosters for both teams (heights and weights were provided by the schools, so if they're wrong, talk to the coaches, not us):

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