02/22/08 BOYS PLAYOFF BASKETBALL ROUNDUP

DIVISION I-A

By Clay Fowler

Staff Writer
RANCHO CUCAMONGA— Even before the CIF-SS Division I-A boys basketball playoff brackets were released, Timothy Sweeny was wishing against a trip to Rancho Cucamonga High School.
Friday night, the coach of the No. 1 seed Riverside King nearly proved himself prophetic, but sixth-seeded Rancho Cucamonga fell short in its bid to upset the Wolves in the quarterfinals, exiting the playoffs after an 88-82 loss Friday night.
King’s towering lineup owned the paint, notably 6-foot-6 power forward Eric Wise who had 38 points and 12 rebounds.
Rancho Cucamonga sophomore point guard Justin Long’s inspired effort of 32 points, 10 rebounds and four steals wasn’t enough in the end.
After trailing by as many as 11, the Cougars closed the gap to three with 2:40 to play, but King’s ensuing 8-0 run sealed the Wolves’ trip to the semifinals.
“(Rancho Cucamonga) played us as well as anybody has all year long,” Sweeny said. “This is a tough place to play. The last thing I wanted to do was come play Rancho Cucamonga at Rancho Cucamonga.”
King (27-2), which has lost only to the top two seeds in Division I-AA, eventually imposed its will on the undersized Cougars (22-7), who have won their two playoff games by a combined four points, but hot-shooting Rancho Cucamonga surged to a 24-12 lead 30 seconds into the second quarter.
The Cougars, the only team to have beaten Division I-A No. 2 seed Etiwanda, cooled off in the second quarter but held a 36-31 lead at the half.
King’s inside presence showed itself in a third quarter the No. 1 seed left with a 58-49 lead. Kawhi Leonard, King’s 6-7 small forward who finished with 26 points and 10 rebounds, combined with Wise to score 17 points in the tide-turning third quarter.
“We were right there except for that lull in the third quarter,” Rancho Cucamonga coach Bill Burke said. “These kids actually thought they had a chance to go all the way this year. And they did. We played unbelievable tonight.”
Long’s sidekick Nick Bennett, who had 20 points, combined with Rashad Bowie to hit eight 3-pointers. The Cougars made 8-of-16 3-pointers in the first and fourth quarters combined but shot 1-for-9 from beyond the arc in the middle two quarters.
King only outrebounded Rancho Cucamonga 36-32 but 16 of the Wolves’ rebounds were offensive, leading to numerous second-chance baskets.
The undersized Cougars had to rely primarily on outside shooting and floaters from Long, who made 12-of-27 field goals.
The Cougars shot 43 percent from the field to King’s 46 percent. The Wolves shot 24 percent in the first half but thanks to their dominance inside, made 68 percent of their field goals in the final two quarters.
“(Rancho Cucamonga) got off to a real fast start but we told our kids to be patient,” Sweeny said. “Once we settled down and went to our strength inside they had trouble holding us off.”

Chino Hills 49, Anaheim Canyon 43
Corey Harkey scored 19 points and grabbed 15 rebounds for the Huskies’ (27-3) first trip to the semifinals in school history over the Cowboys (24-5). Derek Brown added 16 for Chino Hills.

DIVISION II-AA

Colony 79, Gardenia Serra 68
Tyler Lamb scored 23 points, grabbed eight rebounds and had six assists to lead the visiting Titans (21-9) past the Cavaliers (23-5) and into a semifinal matchup against Arroyo Valley.
Gene Saulsberry added 22 points while teammate Michael Bostic contributed 16 points and seven rebounds for Colony, which led 32-22 at the half. The Titans led by as much as 15 in the fourth before Serra went on a run to cut it to 65-58. However, Colony hit crucial free throws down the stretch to seal the victory.

DIVISION IV-A

Twentynine Palms 51, Los Angeles Salesian 37
For the second year in a row, the Wildcats (26-3) have made it to the finals with their win over the Mustangs at Yucca Valley.
Junior Montreal Harris, the only returning starter from last year’s championship team, scored 16 points with seven assists. Brad Alston followed with a double-double of 12 points and 12 rebounds for Twentynine Palms who are looking for their second title in school history.
The Wildcats face Valley Christian of Cerritos either Thursday or Friday at Colony.

DIVISION 5-AA

La Verne Lutheran 39, Pasadena Maranatha 37
Kevin Payne hit an 18-foot baseline jumper at the buzzer to lift the Trojans (27-0) to their first finals appearance in school history with a win over the Minutemen.
C.J. Cooper scored 10 points while Jordan Sally contributed 10 rebounds and five points for La Verne Lutheran, which was up 18-9 at the half.
The Trojans average about 70 points a game but won despite being held to their lowest total this season. They will face defending champion Los Angeles Pacific Hills in the finals on either Friday or Saturday at Colony HS.