ORANGE COUNTY PREP BASKETBALL : Boys’ Roundup : Santa Clara Slays Another Tournament Giant as Servite Loses

The giant killers are back at it again in the 15th Tournament of Champions.

Santa Clara High School, a tiny 2-A division parochial school from Oxnard, stunned Servite, 54-49, Wednesday night in the quarterfinals in Cal Poly Pomona’s Kellogg Gymnasium.

Only two years ago, Santa Clara took mighty Mater Dei to the wire before losing in the semifinals. Santa Clara can be always be counted on for an upset or two in the Orange Tournament each year at Chapman College.

It seems there’s something about a big school that brings out the best in Santa Clara. Just ask Servite, a perennial playoff contender in the Southern Section’s 5-A division.

The teams were even through the first quarter until he Saints scored eight unanswered points to take control. The score was tied, 8-8, when guards Fred Santana and Ray Gonzales changed the complexion of the game.

Gonzales made two straight jump shots and Santana added another and two free throws to give Santa Clara a 16-8 lead at the end of the quarter. Servite tried everything, but the Friars could never catch up.

“We watched them on Monday night and didn’t think they could consistently make the outside shot,” said Servite Coach Larry Walker. “We wanted to give them the outside shot, and they made it in the first half.”

Santa Clara was 7 of 12 from the field in the first quarter, but cooled off considerably with a 4-for-14 performance in the second half. The Saints managed to make only 6 of 13 free throws through three quarters, but got hot at the foul line when Servite threatened in the fourth quarter.

Forward Tony Smalley led a fourth-quarter rally for the Friars with 11 points and finally showed signs of snapping out of an early-season slump. Only two nights ago, Smalley was shut out for the first time in his varsity career against Santa Monica.

Servite moved to within four points twice in the fourth quarter, but each time, Santa Clara responded with a clutch pair of free throws. Santa Clara made 8 of 11 free throws in the last quarter.

The Saints clinched the victory when Santana stole a pass and made a layup for a 52-42 lead with 2:22 remaining. Santana led all scorers with 21 points.

Servite, considered one of the top 10 teams in Orange County before the season, slipped to 4-4.

“I can’t figure out what’s wrong,” he said. “We’re turning the ball over and not getting any intensity. I’ll probably make some lineup changes.”

Santa Clara (6-1) meets Ocean View, another 5-A division powerhouse, in the semifinals at 7:30 Friday. Servite meets Verbum Dei in a consolation game at 4:30.

In another tournament game:

Ocean View 76, Verbum Dei 69--Forward Desi Hazely scored 26 points and center Ricky Butler added 18 as the Seahawks cruised to their seventh straight victory.

Hazely made 9 of 14 shots and 8 of 10 free throws. He had 16 points in the first half as Ocean View opened a 40-34 lead.

“I liked our ball movement better tonight,” said Seahawk Coach Jim Harris. “I thought we were too mechanical on Monday night. These are such good kids, they do just what you tell them and sometimes they end up looking like robots on the floor.”

Ocean View trailed, 16-15, after the first quarter, but Hazely led a second-quarter spurt that carried the Seahawks to a six-point halftime lead. Verbum Dei never regained the lead in the second half.

“We started off lethargic, but we snapped out of it, and sometimes that’s difficult for this team to do,” Harris said. “I expect the game with Santa Clara to be a tough, hard-nosed type of ballgame. Neither team will give or take an inch.”

In the Glendora Tournament:

Brea-Olinda 50, Lynwood 48--Bob Terry scored 23 points and grabbed 9 rebounds to lead the Wildcats in a quarterfinal game at Glendora. Brea (4-3) advances to Friday’s semifinals.

In the Fullerton Tournament:

Fullerton 70, La Serna 54--Junior center Alan Lewis, with 20 of his game-high 28 points in the second half, and guard Greg Wilber, who had 12 of his 14 in the second half, rallied the Indians in a first-round game at Fullerton High. The Lancers (2-1) held a 33-25 halftime lead, but Fullerton (2-3) led by three after three quarters and outscored La Serna 26-11 in the final quarter. Tyler Austin had 14 and David Hazel 13 for La Serna.

Cerritos 69, Villa Park 60--Senior guard Eugene Humphrey led all scorers with 30 points to lead the Dons’ first-round victory. Humphrey scored 20 of his points in the first half to help Cerritos to a 31-30 lead. Guard Mark Block had 18 for the Spartans and forward Chris Storck added 16.

In nonleague games:

Magnolia 51, Laguna Beach 29--Junior forward Mike Goff scored 15 points and guard Victor Banuelos 10 to pace the Sentinals (6-1) at Magnolia High School. Ten Magnolia players scored in the game. Scott Herdman led the Artists with 11.

Sunny Hills 62, Chaffey 46--Marcus Hopkins scored 13 and Chris Drakos added 12 for the Lancers (6-4) at Chaffey. Tom Southall scored 18 for the Tigers (4-2).