SoCalHoops State Tournament

D-V SoCal & NorCal Regionals:
Semifinals Results & Brackets--(Mar. 11, 2002)

Aside from being laid up with the flu for a couple of days last week, there's been an incredible amount going on in basketball everywhere which kept us from posting this yesterday, the day after the Saturday semifinals.  But better late than never.   The finals are now set, and we'll see a matchup of Westchester and Long Beach Poly this coming Saturday at the Long Beach City College.   Game time is 7:00 p.m.   The winner will advance to Arco Arena to the State Finals, meeting the NorCal champion.

What we've done, as with the first round, is to update the bracket (below) and are also post complete results by culling together the highlights from the pros who write about this stuff for a living, providing as many perspectives of the same game as possible, which, in some divisions means from about three or four different newspapers (with links of course back to the original newspaper source).  Here's what happened.

Price 56, La Jolla Country Day 46

From the San Diego Union Tribune
By Steve Brand, Staff Writer

The Torres (20-12) mounted a third-quarter rally to trim the two-time defending state champions' lead to just two points, but the No. 1-seeded Knights (27-6) were able to stretch the advantage in the fourth quarter. Robinson had a team-leading five rebounds. Junior forward Tyler Grooms and sophomore guard Josh McWhorter both had eight points apiece for LJCD.

L.A. PRICE 56, LJCD 46

LJCD	10	10	14	12	– 46
LA Price	15	15	10	16	– 56

LJCD (20-12) – Robinson 18, Grooms 8, Schu 2, Bastine 7, McWhorter 8, Zousmer 3.
LA Price (27-6) – Washington 12, Peace 4, Simon 16, Williams 6, Edwards 2, Morisson 12, McKay 4.
Three-point goals – Simon 2, Morisson, Robinson, McWhorter.

From the LA Times

Paul Simon scored 16 points for top-seeded Price (29-6), which led 30-20 at halftime.

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Reedley Immanuel 51, San Luis Obispo Mission Prep 50 (OT)

From the Fresno Bee

Immanuel boys hang on by inch
By Lisa Burnett, Special To The Fresno Bee

REEDLEY -- Mission Prep High coach Tom Mott figured his Royals gave up 1 inch to Immanuel on Saturday night. Eagles coach John Thiesen would have settled for half a point. As it turned out, the Eagles managed a whole point in a wild Division 5 boys basketball Southern Region semifinal at Immanuel that seemed it never would end. The Eagles survived the Royals 51-50 in overtime to advance to next Saturday's regional championship at Long Beach City College. "Before the game, someone asked me what I thought. I said I'd be glad if we won by one point in overtime," Thiesen said. "If not one, I'll take one-half."  For a while, it looked like he might not get that -- not in one overtime anyway.  The Eagles needed a missed 3-pointer with about 4 seconds left in overtime and a missed free throw after the buzzer to earn a return trip to the regional final. "It just wasn't a pretty game," Thiesen said. "But we're playing in Long Beach next weekend, and well take it." Immanuel, which trailed by 12 points in the second quarter, took a 51-49 lead when Jeff Warkentin made one of two free throws with 31 seconds left in overtime. The Eagles got the ball back, but Joey Craigue stole the ball, and Mission called a timeout with 14 seconds left. With about 4 seconds left, Brent Walker missed a 3-point attempt from the top of the key. Everyone crashed the boards, and the rebound was batted around as time ran out. But Immanuel was called for a foul as the buzzer sounded. With no time left, Gerald Purify made the first of two free throws. His second shot seemed to hang on the rim before rolling off, leaving the Eagles victorious. "Both teams played hard," Mott said. "They were one inch better than we were." It was a game of missed opportunities and, on the part of Immanuel, missed free throws. Normally a 70% free throw-shooting team, the Eagles made just 16 of 30 -- 11 of 24 in regulation. Mission Prep failed to score in regulation after Craigue's basket with 2:15 left gave it a 42-40 lead. Immanuel then made just 2 of 7 from the line after Royals 6-foot-9 center Souleymane Traore fouled out with 2 minutes left in regulation, including 1 of 2 with 54 seconds left. "Missed opportunities -- multiple opportunities, for both teams," Thiesen said. Jacob Wild opened overtime with a turnaround jumper with 3:42 left, giving the Eagles the lead for good. After that, it was a free-throw shooting contest with a twist of fortune. Immanuel made 5 of 6 free throws; Mission, which made 16 of 23 during regulation, made 6 of 11 in overtime. "I think they were delaying the inevitable for one of us," Mott said. "It was intense from minute 1 'til minute 36." Though Thiesen mentioned overtime before the game, that probably was the furthest thing from his mind as the Eagles began the game with their shooting touch fresh out of a deep freeze. Immanuel made just 2 of 14 first-quarter shots, not making a field goal for a 61/2-minute stretch as the Royals went up 14-5 in the quarter. Mission extended its lead to 19-7 before a block by Jeff Warkentin and back-to-back 3-pointers by Kyle Medeiros and Aaron Warkentin midway through the second quarter warmed up the Eagles. "We were ready to play, but we were so tight," Thiesen said. "It wasn't a pretty game. It was survival of the fittest." The Royals had their lapses as well. They did not score for the final 31/2 minutes of the first half, enabling Immanuel to climb back into the game. The Eagles closed a 25-15 gap to 25-21 by halftime and tied the score for the first time on two free throws by Aaron Warkentin with 4:24 left in the third quarter. Medeiros gave Immanuel its first lead on a 3-pointer with 3:53 left in the third quarter. The Royals would lead four more times before Wild's free throw tied the score at 42-42 with 54 seconds left in regulation. "We were ready, and we came out strong, but they made some big shots," Mott said.

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