central final schedule and semi results

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SoCalHoops High School News

CIF Central Section Playoffs: Finals Set;
Semifinal Results--(March 4, 1999)

The finals in the Central Section are now set. Here's what's up this Friday night. We don't have the locations yet, and you should note that each game will be played at a different location because unlike the LA, San Diego and Southern Sections, Central can't yet afford a single venue event due to revenue constraints. If we find out in time where these games are being played, we'll post them up; if not, check with either the Bakersfield Californian or the Fresno Bee. Here are the finals matchups:

Division I: Clovis West v. Bakersfield
Division II: Fresno Edison v. Bakersfield East
Division III: Washington Union v. Exeter
Division IV: Chowchilla v. Corcoran
Divsion V: Coast Union v. Immanuel

We also managed to get the results for all of the games last night, but we're still missing the details of one of the Division 5 semifinal games, between Coast Union and Strathmore. But we've got all the rest of them. Here they are:

Central Section Division I Upper Bracket Semifinal

Clovis West 71, Central 50

Clovis West pulled away from a 7-5 deficit with a 27-5 run into the second quarter, winning over Central 71-50. The Eagles, ranked No. 12 in the state, reached the section championship for the seventh time in the last nine seasons and will face Bakersfield on Friday at a site in the Fresno-Clovis area to bedetermined.

The Grizzlies, 19-8 after their fifth loss to the Eagles this season, were anything put comfortable. They had trouble working the ball down court and were twice charged with 10-second violations in the first half. After Charlie Rodriguez's five points paced the Eagles' first-quarter offense, sophomore starter Chris Hernandez made sure Clovis Coach Vance Walberg's plan to get the ball inside was carried out in the second period. He started the quarter with two driving baskets and a rebound put-back to put Clovis West ahead 22-9. Then reserve Anthony Aiello powered the offense, scoring six of his 10 points as the Eagles led 32-12 with 2 minutes 14 seconds left in the half.

Central Section Division I Lower Bracket Semifinal:

Bakersfield 66, Clovis Buchanan 58

Bakersfield ended Buchanan's upset run through the Division 1 playoffs with a 66-58 victory. The 14th-seeded Bears led 49-44 with five minutes left before No. 2 Bakersfield's Terrance Dunn made three jumpers to push the Drillers ahead to stay at 53-51. Dunn led the Drillers with 24 points. Alfred Williams added 19 points for Bakersfield. Jason Perry led Buchanan with 23 points. Buchanan had opened the playoffs with a 52-44 victory over Ridgeview, the No. 3 seed. Buchanan returned to town Friday and eliminated No. 6 South, 60-58. Buchanan (15-13) overcame deficits of 11 points in both games, rallying in the third quarter each half. Hutson noted that despite the Bears' record, Buchanan has been tough most of the season, finishing up its league season with a three-point loss to league champ, and top seed, Clovis West.

But before the game last night, Bakersfield's Hutson was more worried about his own squad. Two BHS starters, leading scorer Terrence Dunn and James McGill both were planning on sitting out with the flu, and together the two had averaged almost 30 points per game. "That'll definitely put a crimp in your team," Hutson said. "James was sick last week and Terrence caught it over the weekend. I told them that if Al (point guard Al Williams) calls in sick, I'm going home." Well, after last night's game, Hutson may just want to call in sick because Williams was ejected from the game, and his status for Friday night's championship game is now in doubt.

After the Drillers' 66-58 victory over Clovis-Buchanan on Wednesday, the team walked out of its locker room not knowing whether junior Al Williams would be able to play in Friday's title game against defending champion Clovis West. "This is great," Bakersfield forward James McGill said. "This is what we've been working for all year, a chance to play Clovis West again." Clovis West beat Bakersfield in last year's final, and the top-seeded Golden Eagles advanced to this year's final with a victory over Central. Williams will learn today whether the school's administration will allow him to play after he was twice called for technical fouls. Bakersfield coach Mark Hutson was clearly in his player's corner. "He got intentionally fouled, he got cheap shotted," Hutson said of the sequence that ended with Williams' second technical. "It was a bad call by an official who wasn't aware of what happened." Williams got his first technical in the first half for something he said in transition after he made a short jumper. The second came late in the game, moments after Bakersfield finally put a firm headlock on the ballgame. The Drillers led through most of the first half, getting four and five shots at the basket with their relentless pursuit of offensive rebounds.

"We killed them on the offensive boards," Hutson said. No rebound was bigger than the one McGill pulled down with 3:48 left. Buchanan, trying to beat its third Bakersfield city team in three playoff games, got 21 points from guard Jason Perry, including a layup that gave the Bears (16-15) a 49-45 lead with 4:46 left. But Bakersfield rallied. The Drillers got a foul shot from Jason Jackson and an offensive rebound basket by McGill to pull within 49-48. Williams had been pulled from the game after a turnover so it was backup point guard Anthony Guerrero, who whipped a bullet pass to McGill, who missed a layup under pressure, but grabbed his own shot back and put it in from three feet out while falling away. That gave Bakersfield a 50-49 lead.

Bakersfield's Terrence Dunn, who scored a game-high 24 points, extended the lead to 51-49 with a foul shot, but Buchanan's Adam Sherwood scored to tie the game once more. Bakersfield then went on a 9-0 run that didn't come to a halt until Williams' technical. With the Drillers up, 58-51, Williams was running toward the basket after a steal by McGill. He was fouled from behind, but was immediately pulled away from the Buchanan player by two teammates. He appeared to be shouting, but not at anyone in particular and certainly not in the direction of the referees or any Buchanan player when he was called for the technical. "I got hit in the head and I was mad, but they grabbed me," Williams said. He said that as one of his teammates grabbed him, he knocked the ball out of Williams' hand. "It hit the wall and that's when he called it," Williams said. "I have no idea," Hutson said when asked if he thought Williams would be cleared. "They're going to review the film." It was a high-intensity game with fans from both schools shouting from side to side in the BHS gym. One Buchanan fan had a particularly shrill scream she would let out each time a Bakersfield player took a foul shot. Hutson said he wasn't at all surprised Buchanan hung on until late in the fourth quarter. "They're a good team," he said. "They didn't beat Ridgeview and South by accident."

Buchanan relied heavily on the jump shooting of Perry, though post player C.J. Hetherington was somewhat effective inside, scoring 13 points. Perry was also a factor from the foul line, making 13-of-16 free throws, but Bakersfield repeatedly outworked the Bears on the boards despite the repeated cries of coach Tony Petersen to box out. "That was the main thing," Petersen said. "We didn't box out and they got way too many second-chance points. And we lost our composure a little in the last two minutes." Bakersfield wasn't great at the line down the stretch, but the Drillers' 8-for-12 foul shooting in the final 55 seconds was enough to seal the victory and make Williams' status the only question about Friday. "It's shocking," Williams said of his situation. "It's horrifying."

Central Section Division II Upper Bracket Semifinal

Fresno Edison 78, Sanger 44

Willie Johnson led 11 Tigers in scoring with 20 points as top-seeded Edison rolled into the Division 2 boys' basketball final with a 78-44 win Tuesday over Sanger. The Tigers (26-7) play No. 2 East Bakersfield, a 72-51 winner over No. 3 Highland, 7:30 p.m. Friday at Bullard. Edison didn't waste any time in putting Sanger away, building a 22-8 lead in the first quarter and stretching it to 20 points by halftime. Chris Lopez had 10 points and Donald Hollingsworth 11 for the Tigers.

Central Section Division II Lower Bracket Semifinal

Bakersfield East 72, Highland 51

In Bakersfield, the second-seeded Blades pounded the ball inside and Steve Carter took care of the rest. The 6-foot-5 senior center had 29 points and 17 rebounds as East wore down the out-manned Scots with a 72-51 victory to advance to the Central Section Division II finals. The Blades (21-5) will play Edison, a 78-44 winner over Sanger, in Friday night's championship game. Edison will be the home team, but the game must be played at a neutral site.
"I told them that I didn't care whether they were in a zone or what, if he had the defender at his back, give him the ball," said Henderson, whose team defeated No. 3 Highland (16-14) for the third time this season. "That's been my philosophy all year." East worked it to perfection Wednesday night."I had a lot of fun tonight, I think we all did," Carter said. "Everyone played great tonight. "Coach kept telling everyone to get me the ball because they were smaller than me. All the credit has to go to the guards. They did a great job getting me the ball tonight." And when they didn't, he went and got it. Carter grabbed eight offensive rebounds, several of which resulted in putbacks during East's decisive 18-5 run in the fourth quarter that put the game out of reach.

"I think they just wore us down," Highland coach Travis Bivens said. "We tried to slow him down by doubling down on him in our zone, but he's a very talented player." The Scots were also hurt by Carter's supporting cast led by senior Marquese Jingles. The 6-foot-3 forward shook off a slow start and helped spark the Blades with seven of his 15 points in the second quarter. Trailing 16-12 at the end of the first quarter, Jingles nailed a jumper and two free throws to give East its first lead, 21-20, with 4:23 to play in the first half. The lead changed hands eight times the remainder of the half. Highland's
four-point first-quarter advantage was the largest lead by either team. The Blades closed out the half with a 5-0 run and led 30-27 when senior Jackson Phillips made one-of-two free throws with one second left in the half. "I told my team that they would come out and play with a lot of emotion," Henderson said. "I thought that as long as we kept doing our thing, we'd be able to wear them down."

East opened the second half with an 8-2 run and eventually built its lead to 48-36 when Carter scored on a long pass with 1:45 left in the third quarter. That's when things really got out of hand and when 5-foot-8 junior guard dunked the ball on a breakaway to make it 59-42 with 5:35 to play. East began to celebrate. The Blades outscored the Scotsmen 11-3 over the next two minutes. Highland managed just two field goals during a seven-minute stretch. "We really didn't execute very well in the second half," said Highland's Chris Bell, who finished with a team-high 14 points. "We didn't play as well as we could." In addition to Carter and Jingles, East also received a strong performance from fellow senior Mike Boerger, who finished with 10 points and six rebounds. Senior Ricky Shaw chipped in 13 points for Highland, while senior Darrell Gardner added 12, including two 3-pointers.

Central Section Divsion III Upper Bracket Semifinal

Washington Union 88, Dinuba 61

But the big story last night was Washington's game against Dinuba. The story in the Fresno Bee noted that the Washington boys' basketball team should have been celebrating "after the Panthers had completed a 27-point victory, had four players score in double figures and forced 32 turnovers."

But Washington Union wasn't happy with their play. The Bee noted, "But there was little joy following a misleading 88-61 victory over Dinuba that put the Panthers in the Central Section Division 3 championship against Exeter on Friday at McLane. Quite frankly, Washington's first step in a bid for a state championship started with a resounding thud. "No way was this the start we wanted," said senior Shamell Stallworth, who scored 25 points to pace the Panthers. "We won't win a Valley or a state championship if we play like this." In assessing the play of the Panthers, guard Coupe Taylor, who scored 10 points and had six rebounds, didn't pull any punches, either. "This kind of game won't get us anything," Taylor said. "We have to play a lot harder than that. Every night we have to play better or our season will be over." Washington had a two-week layoff since its last game, but that is no excuse, said Washington coach Vonn Webb, who shared the blame for his performance. "We played like crud," Webb said. "It was our worst game since the beginning of the season. "We were not mentally prepared, and that was my fault. It won't happen again." The Panthers came out flat-footed. Dinuba, which lacks the athleticism and depth of Washington, played harder and stayed with Washington most of the first half. "We took Dinuba lightly," Taylor said. "We didn't work hard, and they did." The score was tied 19-19 after the first quarter, and Washington led only 31-28 when Dinuba's Andrew Vega scored on a rebound with 2 minutes 32 seconds left in the half. Then the Panthers went on a 10-0 run to close the half. That was more like it for a team ranked No. 1 in the section, No. 3 in Northern California and No. 8 in the state. At least before Wednesday's game, Washington was expected to win
the section title and get the top seed in the state playoffs. "The bottom line is Washington has Division 1 players in a Division III league," Dinuba coach Ed Bedoya said. "It's strength is defense, and they get a lot of baskets off the defense. We played harder than Washington, but a team that gets the most easy baskets usually wins." Showing at least flashes of spark, Washington's lead reached as many as 32 points in the fourth quarter. But that didn't prevent a lengthy team meeting following the game. "We'll take this win and move on," Stallworth said. "But we have to play harder and smarter to win a Valley championship."

Central Section Divsion III Lower Bracket Semifinal

Exeter 52, Yosemite 49

Third-seeded Exeter went ahead early and never relinquished the lead, holding off No. 2 Yosemite 52-49 in a semifinal at Oakhurst. Charlie Medley scored 19 points for the Central Sequoia League champion Badgers.

Division IV Upper Bracket Semifinal

Chowchilla 82, Riverdale 58

Top-seeded Chowchilla advanced to the section championship game for the first time, racing to a 21-point halftime lead and making it stick for an 82-58 victory over Riverdale. The Redskins play defending champion Corcoran at 7 p.m. Friday at Central. Timmy Young scored 22 to lead the Cowboys.

Division IV Lower Bracket Semifinal

Corcoran 62, Kingsburg 39

Corcoran broke open a close game with seven second-half 3-pointers to beat upset-minded Kingsburg 62-39. Joel Sligh scored 13 points for the Vikings (15-12), who reached the semifinals by upsetting No. 2 Garces 63-61.

Divsion V Upper Bracket Semifinal

Coast Union 90, Strathmore 56

Divsion V Lower Bracket Semifinal

Immanuel 57, Central Valley Christian 41

No. 2 Immanuel, determined not to lose to Central Valley Christian in the Division 5 semifinals for a second straight year, led from the first basket for a 57-41 victory. The Eagles play Coast, a 90-56 winner over Strathmore, in Friday's championship game at Morro Bay. The Eagles held the Cavaliers to two first-half baskets for a 26-12 lead. "Just really, really good man pressure defense," Immanuel coach John Thiesen said. "It didn't allow Central Valley to get into their offense." Bret Dewey had 11 second-half points and Casey Case had nine rebounds and five steals for Immanuel.