SoCalHoops State Tournament

D-IV SoCal & NorCal Regionals:
1st Round Results & Brackets--(Mar. 7, 2002)

We've updated the bracket (below) and are posting complete results from last night's games, in both SoCal and the NorCal regionals, so that everyone gets a better perspective on the teams that won, the teams that lost and the upcoming matchups which will happen this Saturday in the regional semifinals.   We obviously couldn't be everywhere at once, but we've managed to cull together the highlights from just about every game, with links back to the original newspaper sources in the event you want to see other background stories and results on a particular team.

No. 1 San Diego Horizon 58, El Segundo 40

From the LA Times:

Ryan Read scored 19 points to lead host San Diego Horizon (28-4). Dashawn Strong scored 24 points for El Segundo who finishes 27-6.

From the San Diego Union Tribune
Horizon shuts down visiting El Segundo
By Robert Fulton

It is elementary: A basketball game cannot be won if baskets aren't being made.   Top-ranked Horizon High School proved this point last night in defeating El Segundo 58-40 at home in the first round of the Division IV Southern California Regionals.   The Panthers held the Eagles scoreless during two long periods of the game. In the first half, El Segundo (27-6) couldn't buy a point for more than seven minutes. With only two foul shots, the Eagles went more than eight minutes without a field goal.  In the fourth period, Horizon shut the Eagles down again, this time for five-plus minutes.   "Defense has been our game all season," said Horizon coach Zack Jones. "I told the guys we needed to do it on the defensive end. We didn't shoot very well. Defense wins games."  With those two defensive stands, the rest was cake.   Horizon held a 17-12 lead after one period, then stormed ahead with a 12-0 run to go up 29-12. El Segundo countered with a 7-0 run to close the half, but Horizon had a comfortable 29-19 at the break.  The Panthers were only up 40-31 after three periods, but then El Segundo again forgot where the hoop was and Horizon ran away with the victory.   Ryan Reed led Horizon (25-4) with 19 points.  "We felt good," Reed said. "We knew if we underestimated them, they could beat us."  Jared Dudley added 16 points and Nate Carter and Benas Veiklas scored 12 and 10, respectively, for the winners.  "I'm happy we got the win," Jones said, "but we didn't play very well."  DeShawn Strong scored 24 points overall and almost single-handedly brought El Segundo back with 10 points in the third period.    HORIZON 58, EL SEGUNDO 40  El Segundo 12 7 12 9 – 40 Horizon 17 12 11 18 – 58  El Segundo (27-6) – McCullough 5, Berger 3, Strong 24, Hopson 8. Horizon (26-4) – Read 19, Dudley 16, Veikalas 10, Robinson 1, Carter 12. Three-point goals – Read 3, Dudley, Veikalas, McCullough.

No. 4 Harvard-Westlake 66, Serra 64

From the LA Times
By Eric Sondheimer:

Freshman Ed White made a 15-foot baseline jumper as the buzzer sounded to give the Wolverines (27-5) a dramatic opening-round victory at Harvard-Westlake. Serra (26-5), which trailed by 12 points at halftime, outscored the Wolverines, 20-2, to start the third quarter and took a 44-38 lead. Harvard-Westlake scored the final 11 points of the quarter to go back. Eugene Jeter, who scored 20 points for Serra, missed on a three-point attempt with six seconds left. The Wolverines got the rebound and raced upcourt, getting the ball to White, who came through with his 10th point of the night. "Oh my God," Harvard-Westlake coach Greg Hilliard said. "Even though he's a freshman, he's played in a million basketball games and likes to take those shots." Bryce Taylor led Harvard-Westlake with 20 points.
Eric Sondheimer

From the Daily Breeze
Harvard-Westlake eliminates Serra
By Vincent D'Angelo, Correspondent

Freshman guard Ed White hit a 10-foot jumper as time expired to lift Harvard-Westlake to a 66-64 victory over  Serra in the first round of the Southern California Regional playoffs Wednesday at Harvard-Westlake. Serra, which trailed for much of the game, tied the score at 64 with 1:07 remaining in the fourth quarter on guard Eric McNeal's basket. White's 3-point attempt on the next possession led to consecutive timeouts for Serra.   Play resumed with 9.3 seconds left, but Eugene Jeter, sizzling earlier in the half, saw his shot attempt miss its mark. Harvard-Westlake guard Craig Weinstein grabbed the rebound on the run and had a 2-on-1 with White trailing on the wing. Weinstein dished and White swished, advancing the Wolverines to the second round. Serra finished its season 26-5. It was a game of momentum and sloppy play. Serra didn't have enough of the former and too much of the latter. Neither team came out strong as the teams com bined to miss their first 10 field goal attempts. Serra guard Eugene Hackett hit the game's first at 5:34 in the first quarter. “We just didn't play well,` said Serra coach Dwan Hurt. “It was nothing they did defensively. We just turned the ball over too many times, made too many little mistakes.” The mistakes began to pile up in the second quarter. Jeter was called for a charge. Curtis Hemphill put back a Jeter miss but was called for going over the back of the net. Two possessions later, Hemphill missed a dunk. Then, guard Jeffrey Arnold threw the ball out of bounds and Jason Evan-Williams was called for traveling. Harvard-Westlake, meanwhile, hustled to the boards and played virtually mistake-free for the final 5:30 of the first half, outscoring Serra 20-10 to open up a 12-point lead, 36-24.  Serra righted itself in the second half. Jeter nailed three consecutive shots, including two from well beyond the 3-point line. After two baskets by Hackett, Jeter hit yet another 3-pointer at 5:17 in the third to give Serra its first lead since the first quarter. Then Serra lost its momentum.  Serra senior forward Samir Hernandez was assessed a technical foul with 40 seconds left in the third, leading to an automatic ejection. Hernandez had been called for a flagrant foul for his defense on Evan Harris earlier in the game. The ejection gave Harvard-Westlake life. “That hurt us real bad,” Hurt said. “Samir was our senior leadership. That definitely gave them the momentum. With him going out they got two free throws and the ball. It was a two-possession foul.” The ejection came at the end of 20-2 run for Serra. Just as soon as the Cavaliers got the lead, Weinstein took it away with a 3-point basket with 28 seconds left.  Serra continued to battle, and there were two ties and three lead changes during the last 4:45 of the game. Bryce Taylor led Harvard-Westlake with 20 points. White finished with 13. Serra, which will lose nine players to graduation, was led by Jeter's 20 points. Hemphill had 17, and Hackett had 11.  “We didn't execute. Little mistakes at big times hurt. Harvard-Westlake was the better team,” Hurt said.

From the LA Daily News
[excerpts also appeared in the LB Press Telegram]
Freshman's buzzer-beater wins for H.-W.
By Nevin Barich
Staff Writer

Players and fans alike surrounded him, the chants of "Freshman, freshman," reverberating off the walls. It was all to celebrate the heroics of freshman guard Ed White, whose jump shot at the buzzer Wednesday night gave Harvard-Westlake of Studio City a stunning 66-64 victory over Serra of Gardena in a the first round of the State Division IV boys' basketball playoffs at Harvard-Westlake.  After Serra guard Eugene Jeter missed a 3-pointer with six seconds left, Harvard-Westlake's Craig Weinstein brought the ball upcourt. He found White streaking down the right side and, when White got the ball, he pulled up and found nothing but net. It was a stunning ending, but no one appeared more stunned than White. "It feels good," said White, unable to say anything more as the reality of the moment seemed to overtake his words. White's shot capped a back-and-forth contest that saw Harvard-Westlake (27-5) blow a 12-point halftime lead and a seven-point fourth-quarter advantage. With the Wolverines up 36-24, Serra (26-5) turned the game around with a 20-2 run over the first 3:17 of the third quarter to go ahead 44-38. "Coach (Greg Hilliard) just told us to keep our composure," Harvard-Westlake forward Harris Chung said. "He reminded us that we were only down by six and that we were still in it." The talk worked, as the Wolverines rallied with a 11-0 run of their own to take a five-point lead heading into the final period. Though Harvard-Westlake eventually extended its lead to seven points, the visiting Cavaliers erased that with a 13-4 run to go back ahead 59-57 with 4:14 remaining. The lead went back and forth the rest of the way until White's buzzer-beater gave his team a second-round matchup against top-seeded Horizon of San Diego on Saturday. Bryce Taylor led the Wolverines with 20 points and 11 rebounds despite being hampered by injuries to his hip and tailbone, suffered against El Segundo on Friday in the Southern Section Division IV-AA championship game. "We knew, with Bryce hurting, that everyone had to step up," Chung said. "And we did. Everybody contributed, especially our bench. They really came through." White had 12 points and Weinstein added nine points, six rebounds and six assists for Harvard-Westlake. Center Evan Harris had nine points and 11 rebounds for the Wolverines. With Harvard-Westlake advancing, you can forgive the team if they start looking more and more at their gym wall, hoping to add another state-championship banner to the ones that stand from the 1996 and 1997 teams. Between those banners hang the jerseys of twins Jason and Jarron Collins, the stars of those state-title squads who went on to Stanford and the NBA. "We definitely have re-set our goals," Hilliard said. "We plan to go far and compete in these playoffs. Knowing the strength of our division, a state title is a tall, tall order, but it's in our minds." Hilliard wasn't surprised that Serra provided such a challenge. "We've played some strong teams this year," Hilliard said, "but as far as the playoffs have gone, we've played teams that really just focus on one or two players. Serra is not like that. They have five, six, seven players you have to worry about." Though its season ended with a loss, Serra coach Dwan Hurt was happy for his team's season. "It's been a great, great season," said Hurt, whose team has made the state playoffs three of the past four seasons. "I have no regrets. Overall, we've accomplished a lot. It was really good." 

No. 3 Verbum Dei 71, San Joaquin Memorial 69

From the LA Times:

Richard Chaney had 29 points and 12 rebounds to lead third-seeded Verbum Dei (28-3). Michael Pagan added 15 points and Martin Starr had 13 points and five rebounds. Antonio Lawrence (22 points) of Fresno San Joaquin Memorial (23-8) had a chance to send the game into overtime when he was fouled on a three-point shot with 0.4 remaining, but he missed two of his three free-throw attempts. Dwain Williams added 20 points for San Joaquin Memorial.

No. 2 Garces 80, San Diego Lincoln Prep 65 --

From the LA Times:

Zach Ryan and Robert Swift each scored 21 to lead Bakersfield Garces (28-4) at the Centennial Garden in Bakersfield. Shaun Davis scored 22 for San Diego Lincoln Prep (21-8).  

From the San Diego Union Tribune

Junior guard Shaun Davis scored 23 points and junior center Dominic McGuire added 19 in a losing cause for the Hornets (21-8). Host Bakersfield Garces is 27-4. BAKERSFIELD GARCES 80,  LINCOLN 65  Lincoln 7 20 15 24 – 65 B. Garces 27 18 14 21 – 80 Lincoln (21-8) – Davis 23, McGuire 19, Harris 2, Jones 2, Deshotels 9, Hardy 2, Payne 1, C.Jones 2, Smith 2, Willis 4. Bakersfield Garces (27-4) – Shiloh 8, Ryan 18, Esparza 21, Martin 2, Norris 2, Mooch 2, Swift 19, Walker 2. Three-point goals – Davis 2, Shiloh 2, Ryan 2, Esparza 2, Deshotels.

From the Bakersfield Californian
Garces boys start fast, top Lincoln, 80-65
By Ryan Schuster [excerpts only]

What looked like a Garces rout early on turned into a game in the second half as Lincoln Prep (21-8) pulled within 68-60 on two free throws by Shaun Davis with three minutes left. But Garces (28-4) scored the next eight points and was aided by a technical foul on Lincoln coach Charlie Paulk, which led to two Anthony Esparza free throws with 2:47 remaining and possession for the Rams. Both teams were called for 23 fouls. Many of Lincoln's fouls came as it tried to counter its height disadvantage, especially against Garces 7-foot center Robert Swift, who had 21 points, 14 rebounds and four blocked shots. Lincoln's tallest player was 6-7 Dominic McGuire, who attempted to guard Swift.   Garces had excellent ball movement, always finding the open man. The Rams developed a solid inside-outside game with Swift, 6-7 forward Zach Ryan, 6-5 guard Anthony Esparza and lightning quick 6-2 guard Kyle Shiloh. Garces made 7-of-17 3-point baskets. Lincoln was 3-of-20 .  Ryan equalled Swift's team-high of 21 points and also had 12 rebounds, Esparza poured in 19 points and Shiloh scored 11 points, pulled down eight rebounds and recorded six assists in just 25 minutes playing in foul trouble most of the second half. Shiloh picked up his second and third fouls late in the first half and his fourth a minute into the second half, limiting his playing time. Garces outshot Lincoln, 42 percent to 35 percent from the field and also had a higher free throw shooting percentage (53 percent to 40 percent) . Davis, who darted around like a ball in a pinball machine, finished with a game-high 22 points. But it was well below the 38 points he scored in Lincoln's 77-60 loss to San Diego-Horizon in the San Diego Section final and he made just eight of 33 shots.   Lincoln's only lead of the game was at 2-0 15 seconds into the game.  Garces led 27-7 after the first quarter but were outscored 58-53 the rest of the way.  Swift threw down two dunks in a 45-second span to give Garces a 57-37 lead with 1:43 left in the third quarter. Garces will play Los Angeles-Verbum Dei at 1 p.m. in Saturday's second-round game at Centennial Garden. Tickets go on sale at 10 a.m. today at Centennial Garden and Ticket Master. 

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NorCal Division IV Regionals
First Round

Monte Vista Christian 72, Sutter 50
Wheatland 71, Salesian 67
Valley Christian-S.J. 79, Amador 67
Encina 56, Marin Catholic 54

Watsonville Monte Vista Christian 72, Sutter 50

From the Santa Cruz Sentinel
Boys basketball: Mustangs bite Huskies
By Kirsten Fairchilds
Sentinel Correspondent

WATSONVILLE — If any seismic activity occurred in the Watsonville area on Wednesday evening, the origin may have been the Monte Vista Christian School gymnasium.   The Mustangs’ gym shook with excitement as the MVC boys basketball team hosted Sutter Union in a quarterfinal meeting of the Northern California Division IV championship tournament.  The top-seeded Mustangs made their final home appearance of the season a memorable one as they trounced No. 8 Sutter Union, 72-50.  "It was unbelievable," MVC senior guard Blake Malcolm said. "The whole atmosphere was unbelievable. Our 6th man (spirit section) really came out and gave us a big boost tonight."  The Santa Cruz Coast Athletic League co-champion and the Central Coast Section champion, Monte Vista Christian (29-3 overall) never lost at home this season.  Although they’d prefer to stay at home, the Mustangs are forced to move Saturday’s semifinal game to a larger venue. MVC coach Steve Miles said that semifinal games must be played in a venue with at least 1,000-seat capacity.  He said that Cabrillo College and Scotts Valley High were two possible options, but a gym hadn’t been finalized as of Wednesday night.  MVC met its maximum capacity of 873 spectators well before the 7:30 p.m. start of the game. The school began selling tickets on Tuesday. Athletics director Patty Gillig estimated that 30 to 40 people were turned away at the doors.   The 2001 North Section champion, Sutter Union lost in this year’s title game to Wheatland, the No. 4 seed in the NorCal playoffs.   Sutter and Wheatland both went 7-1 — splitting their games with each other — to share the Butte View League championship.  A 6-foot-6 center, Paul Bains entered the game averaging 16 points and nine rebounds a game for Sutter Union, which started five seniors. But Bains could not convert on numerous open looks in the first quarter.  The poor start by the Huskies, who left Sutter at 11:30 a.m. Wednesday to make the 4 ½ hour-drive with time to spare, was magnified by the blaze of a beginning by MVC. The Mustangs played a first quarter that flirted with perfection. Their speed and versatility on offense was punctuated by an aggressive man-to-man defense that flustered Sutter Union.  The first quarter was capped off by a buzzer-beater sent up by Malcolm, who released his last-second attempt just past the half-court line.  The off-the-glass 3-pointer was the Mustangs’ fourth in the quarter and gave them a 27-11 lead heading into the second.  Sutter Union guard Lowell Werblow opened the second quarter with consecutive baskets, but MVC continued to score at will. Midway through the quarter, the Mustangs blew open the game as Sutter Union continued to struggle on offense.   Quick and loose, the Huskies appeared a worthy opponent, but MVC ran unhampered through their zone defense.  Sharp passing by Sutter Union revealed occasional seams in MVC’s defense, but the Huskies’ shooting percentage — both inside and out — was dismal.  The Mustangs led 47-20 at the break.  "Monte Vista is the best shooting team I’ve ever seen," Sutter Union coach Bill DeGroodt said. "In the first half, we calculated their shooting percentage and it was 78 percent. They missed only five shots in the first half. I told my kids at the break that if Monte Vista kept that up — well, I didn’t know what to tell them. "I don’t think any team from Northern California can play with this team if they shoot like that. But it was a pleasure to come down here and play such a quality program. These guys are legitimately the best team I’ve seen all year. Easily."  Sutter Union appeared to take a more aggressive approach in the second half, but they appeared to try too hard to compete with MVC. Wild passing resulted in numerous turnovers.  MVC continued to score freely.  Center Michael White led MVC with 20 points and collected 10 rebounds. Rudy Lopez and Malcolm each scored 15. Malcolm had six assists. J.T. Tipton pulled down 11 rebounds.  "That was a good start," Miles said. "The last two games, the kids understood that we had to get off to a good start. For the first half in a playoff game, the kids were super."  Werblow scored 24 points. Bains was held to just 10. 

Wheatland 71, Richmond Salesian 67

From the Contra Costa Times

Lawrence Wright scored a game-high 30 points with five blocks as the Pirates (25-5) knocked off the Chieftains (22-11) in front of a raucous home crowd. "We were competitive and we were rested," said Salesian coach Bill Mellis after his team's second consecutive exit in the first round of the Northern California Division IV playoffs. "(But) our defense was lacking on the weak side. It's tough to play on the road." Both teams pushed the ball hard in the first half, but it was Wheatland gaining a 25-17 edge midway through the second quarter. The Chieftains, smarting from a disastrous second quarter in the North Coast Section title game on Saturday, turned up the offense and cut the Pirates' lead to 36-34 at the half. The Chieftains looked as if they would take control to start the third quarter, breaking off a 7-2 run and taking a 41-38 lead thanks to Jerryck Owens-Murrey, John Winston and Marcus Carson. It didn't last long, as the Pirates battled back to tie the game three times. In the middle of the fourth quarter, the Chieftains battled back after a 10-3 Pirates run. Winston's steal and bucket tied the game 67-67 with 47.8 seconds left. But a costly Chieftains turnover sealed their fate. The error led to three free throws from Wright and one from Kyle Hood that sealed it for Wheatland.

Valley Christian-S.J. 79, Amador 67

Incredibly, this was the only game we couldn't find anything on...anywhere.. At least we have the score.

Sacramento Encina 56, Kentfield Marin Catholic 54

From the Sacramento Bee

No. 7 Encina defeated North Coast Section champion and host and second seed Marin Catholic of Kentfield 56-54. Stephen Beasley scored 20 points for Encina.  The Bulldogs will visit No. 6 Valley Christian of San Jose at 7:30 p.m. Saturday night.

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