SoCalHoops Playoff News

CIF-SS II-A Championship:   Redondo Takes It From
King In Final Seconds--(Mar. 3, 2002)

CIF-SS Division II-A Boy's Championship Game

Redondo Union 71, Riverside MLK 70

Like the rest of the games in the afternoon session, before that dreadful atmosphere spread over the Pond for the evening slaughter, this was a terrific game.  Not that the accomplishments of the teams that played in the evening session weren't also great...it's just that the day time games seemed so much more competitive....and they were.

We've already provided the basic details in our updates on the message board yesterday live from the Pond.  We could go on and on about how great this game was, but why should we when there were people there yesterday who get paid to do that....and we mean the local sportswriters who covered these games, and that includes some of the best in the business, from Ben Bolch at the LA Times, to Bob Holtzman at the Daily Breeze, and Eric-Paul Johnson at the Riverside Press-Enterprise.   You can also find recaps of not only this game, but all the day's action as well from John Tawa at Student Sports.com.

Here's the box score, followed by the stories from all the local media's best.

Visitors:  Redondo Union

Home: ML King

Redondo Union    20    11     22    18--71
ML King              13     18    16    23--70  

The first look at the game from one of the professionals who gets paid to watch these guys is from Bob Holtzman, a relatively new sportswriter on the local scene, but he's been doing a great job all season long covering teams from the South Bay, and if he knows a thing or two about local basketball, it's about this year's Redondo Seahawks team.    Here's the story he wrote for the Torrance-based South Bay Daily Breeze.

Redondo's White puts title in bank
By Bob Holtzman
DAILY BREEZE

South Bay basketball fans like to joke that Redondo High forward Wendell White has never seen a shot he didn't like.

After Saturday's CIF Southern Section Division II-A championship game, Redondo basketball fans hope he never does.

The junior banked in a 30-foot 3-pointer with less than three seconds remaining to lift Redondo to a 71-70 victory over M.L. King/Riverside at the Pond.

White finished with 20 points and finished off King (27-4) despite just making just 8 of 23 shots. The game-winner was White's lone 3-point basket in six attempts.

“I knew I had to get the ball up,” said White, who scored the final five points in Redondo's semifinal victory over Santa Margarita. “I looked at the clock and there was three seconds left. When I threw it up, well I mean, shot it up, I heard (teammate) Keith (Ellison) say `No!' then when it went in he was jumping on me.

“I guess that was the happiest moment of my life.”

White's shot completed an exciting final 1:28 during which Redondo overcame a 68-64 deficit. White closed the gap with a baseline jump shot, then Ellison made a pair of clutch free throws to tie the game. But Marvin Lea, King's senior point guard, thought he made the game-winning shot when he connected on a floater in the lane with 12.9 seconds remaining.

“I thought I won it,” said Lea, who had 22 points, four steals and a game-high 13 rebounds. “I didn't think he would make that shot.”

Ellison pushed the ball up the left side, reaching the NBA 3-point line before passing back to White. The junior split two defenders and then delivered the shot that gave Redondo back-to-back CIF titles.

“I don't feel (anything) right now,” said King forward Leon Rosborough, who scored a game-high 29 points and grabbed 10 rebounds. “It felt like my soul left my body when he hit that shot.”

The victory lifted Redondo to consecutive section titles after not winning one for 57 years. Both teams advance to the Southern California Regionals, which begin Wednesday.

The victory also gave Tom Maier a section crown in his first year as head coach at Redondo.

“We had a wonderful year and the credit goes to (our players),” Maier said. “I don't have to do a lot.”

Maier won two section titles at Chadwick in 1980 and 1985 but he credited his predecessor at Redondo.

“I'd like to point some attention to the gentleman I replaced, Jim Nielsen,” Maier said. “He went on to bigger and better pastures (assistant at Pepperdine). It's been a real honor to take over this club for him. Part of this title is because of him.”

King used its athleticism to counter Redondo's size throughout the contest. Although Redondo had three starters as tall or taller than King's tallest, the Wolves outrebounded Redondo 47-36 and had 26 offensive boards.

“We did a tremendous job defending them all game,” King coach Tim Sweeney said. “They didn't hurt us on the boards (with their size). Our scouting report had them to a tee. We knew if we boxed them out and won the battle of the boards, we should win.

“At the end, well that's the way basketball works sometimes.”

Ellison finished with 22 points, seven rebounds and five assists. Adam Zahn added 14 points, 11 rebounds and three blocks.

Guard Eddie Topps scored all of his 10 of his points in the second half and said Maier's halftime speech had an impact.

“He told us, `Don't have any regrets,' ” Topps said. “I knew I wasn't playing hard in the first half and I wanted to leave it on the floor.”

BOYS' BASKETBALL-Division II-A
White’s Big Shot Lifts Redondo
By BEN BOLCH, Times Staff Writer

With time running out and Redondo Union trailing Riverside King by two points, Sea Hawk swingman Wendell White spun away from two defenders and took an off-balance three-pointer that made time stand still.

"My heart dropped," Redondo forward Adam Zahn said. "I knew if he missed, we wouldn’t have another chance."

Said King guard Marvin Lea, who had just given the Wolves the lead with a jump shot in the lane: "I didn’t really feel he was going to make the shot."

Somehow, the ball banked off the backboard and dropped into the basket, giving third-seeded Redondo Union a pulsating 71-70 victory over top-seeded King in the Southern Section Division II-A championship Saturday at Arrowhead Pond of Anaheim.

After James Ellis’ last-second heave from beyond midcourt bounced harmlessly off the backboard for King, Sea  Hawk players mobbed White in celebration of their second consecutive section title.

The crestfallen Wolves were left doubled over in grief. "It’s like my soul left my body as soon as [White] hit that shot," King forward Leon Rosborough said.

King (27-4) rallied from a 10-point third-quarter deficit behind the spirited play of Rosborough (29 points) and Lea (22) and held a 68-64 lead with less than two minutes to play in the game after a pull-up jumper by Matthew Thomas.

Redondo (23-6) tied the score on a baseline-jumper from White and two Keith Ellison free throws before Lea drove the lane and hit the shot that put the Wolves ahead, 70-68.

"I thought we had the win," King Coach Timothy Sweeney Jr. said, "And [White] comes down and banks in a three-pointer. That’s the way it goes sometimes."

The three-pointer was White’s second consecutive game-winning basket. He hit another three-pointer to lift Redondo past second-seeded Santa Margarita in the semifinals. White missed his first seven three-pointers before making the winner against Santa Margarita. He missed his first five before banking in the decisive shot Saturday.

"He had the presence of mind to take that shot," Redondo Coach Tom Maier said. "A lot of kids in that position wouldn’t under that duress." Ellison led the Sea Hawks with 22 points, Wendell added 20 and Zahn had 14 points, 12 rebounds and three blocked shots.

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