Boys' Basketball: Price 68, Oaks Chr. 42

Things were going pretty good for the Oaks Christian of Westlake Village boys' basketball team in a Div. IV state regional quarterfinal playoff game at Price of Los Angeles.

But it only lasted for one half.

After a sluggish start, the top-seeded Knights (31-3) ran away in the third quarter and cruised to a 68-42 victory.

Price moves on to Saturday's regional semifinal and will host Notre Dame of Sherman Oaks or Pacific Hills of Los Angeles.

The Lions (20-10) were right in the game early as Dan Ross erased a quick 5-0 lead with two 3-pointers, part of an 11-0 run.

Price came right back with an 11-0 run of it's own but led only 21-15 at halftime and Oaks Christian was feeling very good about where it was at.

Oaks Christian's zone defense was giving Price fits and Cal-bound stars Allen Crabbe and Richard Solomon were not scoring at will.

However, it all changed in the second half.

Montana St.-bound point guard Casey Trujeque erupted for 12 points, the Lions were not getting back on defense and the Knights were running and scoring at will.

"I think we just got too comfortable," Oaks Christian's Blair Holliday said. "We saw we could play with them early and then we laid back.

The lead kept growing and growing and before anybody knew it the deficit was 15 by the end of the third quarter.

Things got out of hand in the fourth quarter as Crabbe, Solomon and Askia Booker all had rim-rattling dunks.

"You know the difference was we were in the game but when we came out for the second half they were still the same size and we were 16 minutes more tired," Oaks Christian coach Tom Roanhaus quipped.

Spencer Kier led the Lions with 12 points, Taylor Hange had 11 and Holliday had 10.

Ross finished with nine, all on 3-pointers but none after the first quarter.

Oaks Christian might have had a better chance but went more than eight minutes in the first half without a field goal and the entire fourth quarter as well.

Trujeque had 16 to lead the Knights, Booker had 12, Crabbe finished with nine and Solomon and sophomore Skylar Spencer each had eight.

The game was a tall-order for the Lions taking on an 11-time section champion, six-time state champion and not having the services of starting point guard Chass Bryan, who was ineligible due to playing in a spring league after thinking the Lions season was over after a sectional quarterfinal loss against Alemany of Mission Hills on Feb. 23.

Oaks Christian was informed it was still in the running for a state playoff berth when section officials called the school on March 2.

Bryan had played on Feb. 27 in Long Beach.

"We could have used him," Roanhaus said. "Chass would have been able to run some with those guys."