SoCalHoops Playoff News

Boys D-IV State Final Game Results:
SoCal Horizon Beats NorCal Valley Christian--(Mar. 23, 2002)

San Diego Horizon Christian won the Division IV boys' state title by defeating San Jose Valley Christian by a score of 78-45 yesterday behind Nate Carter's game-high 23 points and 14 rebounds and junior Ryan Read's 22 points.   Horizon (28-4) cruised to the win over Valley Christian (21-12), which was got 13 points each from Marcus Martinez and Joe Calderon. Horizon outrebounded the Warriors 47-19.  We've managed to find only minimal coverage of this game.  The LA Times didn't cover it, and the San Jose Mercury News doesn't cover preps online.  What we did find was a nice story from the San  Diego Union Tribune's Steve Brand, as well as a box score from the game which we found  in the print version of the Los Angeles Times.  We're certain someone else covered the game, but if they did, we just didn't see it and don't have time to look right now. We've also got the State Playoff bracket below for this division, in case you want to see how Horizon and Valley Christian made it to the finals.  Here's what we know: 

Champions by a wide margin
By Steve Brand
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
March 23, 2002

SACRAMENTO – As the clock wound toward the end of the state Division IV boys basketball championship game, Horizon coach Zack Jones smiled.  He was happy. He was satisfied. Most of all, he was relieved.  "Once you know you've got it won, once you know you've gotten over the hump, you feel a joy you've never felt before," Jones said after his Panthers dominated San Jose Valley Christian 78-45 yesterday at Arco Arena to capture an elusive high school state title. 

Eight years of frustration were erased as the heavily favored Panthers, who could have taken the weaker Northern California Regional champion lightly, instead exploited every flaw for the second-most lopsided victory in state playoff history.  It could easily have been more.  After jumping to a 22-5 first-quarter lead, Horizon (29-4) expanded the advantage to 35-12 with three minutes left in the half.  Jones decided to give his starters a rest, and Valley Christian showed how it was able to work its way into the final after losing by 26 in the Central Coast Section title game. 

The Warriors outscored Horizon 11-1 and trimmed the lead to 43-31 before Nate Carter and Co. went on a 12-2 run to put the game away early in the fourth quarter.  Despite competing in the second-smallest enrollment division, Horizon was the top-ranked team in San Diego for most of the season. This was the Panthers' first state championship after being consistently ranked in the top 10 each of the last eight years. The Panthers join Lincoln (1994) and USDHS ('98) as the only boys state champions from the San Diego Section.  Carter, who is the clear front-runner for state Division IV Player of the Year, led the way with 23 points and 14 rebounds. The 6-foot-7 forward, who has not yet signed a national letter of intent, hit 9-of-16 from the field and had seven rebounds on each end of the court.  He was all business, even during the Panthers' mild celebration.  "Playing against Division I teams like (Santa Ana) Mater Dei and (L.A.) Fairfax taught us to finish," said Carter, noting that in both of those losses the Panthers had a chance to win but faded.  "Our goal was to win state. At our devotional this morning, we talked about how we had to cherish this moment together. It relaxed us. We knew they had to beat some good teams to get here." 

Carter was being generous.  For most of the season, Southern California dominated Cal-Hi Sports magazine's Division IV rankings, where Horizon was ranked No. 1 and No. 8 overall in the state. Valley Christian (21-12) didn't appear in the top 10 until this week, and then, despite making the championship game, was ranked just seventh.  None of the Warriors was taller than 6-4 and Valley Christian was considerably slower than most of the better teams Horizon has played this season.   Still, the Panthers were not about to let the one possible glitch – overconfidence – ruin this party.  Junior Ryan Read drove the Warriors crazy, slashing through their defense for 22 points. Lithuanian Benas Veikalas dished out a game-high five assists. And 6-5 Joktan Roberts' eight rebounds helped lead Horizon to a 47-19 advantage on the boards. 

Then there was the defense, the ingredient that led the Panthers to most of their 29 wins. Valley Christian hit just 25 percent of its shots (7-of-28) after intermission and was 15-of-48 for the game. Marcus Martinez and Joe Calderon led the Warriors with 13 points each.   "That was a great opponent," said Valley Christian coach Steve Cotton. "We didn't play a team like that all year. When you struggle to get rebounds, when you struggle to shoot and a guy like Carter becomes a load to stop . . . "  Cotton didn't finish his thought. He didn't need to. The score said it all.

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Box Score:

SAN DIEGO HORIZON --  Roberts 9, Read 22, Dudley 8, Velkajas 9, Carter 23 (14 rebounds), Robinson 1, HJohnson 4, Byers 2.

SAN JOSE VALLEY CHRISTIAN--Cotton 3, Craig 9, Martinez 13, Calderon 13, Hunt 5, Castelo 2.

San Diego Horizon--  22  14  15  27--78
SJ Valley Christian--   8   18  10  12--45

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