Artesia Is Too Deep, Too Much for Glendora

Casey Jacobsen of Glendora High won the individual statistics battle, but Jason Kapono and his Lakewood Artesia teammates won the war in a Southern California regional semifinal boys’ basketball game at Long Beach City College on Thursday night.

Jacobsen, a 6-foot-6 guard considered one of the top junior players in the nation along with Kapono, had a game-high 36 points and 11 rebounds, but Artesia used a balanced attack to post a 67-54 victory.

The win was 19th in a row for the Pioneers (32-1), who will play Westchester in the regional final at Pauley Pavilion Saturday at 8 p.m.

“We felt confident in the second half that if we kept doing what we had been doing that we’d wear them down,” Artesia Coach Wayne Merino said. “They don’t play a lot of guys, so that was our thinking.”

Despite its lack of depth, Glendora (31-2) took a 46-45 lead with 7:47 left in the game when Jacobsen threw down a two-handed dunk off a lob.

Jacobsen had 30 points at that stage of the game, but Southern Section Division I-AA champion Artesia went on a 12-0 run over the next 4:15 to take a 57-46 lead with 3:32 left.

In between, Murdock scored another layup off a steal and fellow senior Jamal O’Quinn made two three-pointers.

O’Quinn’s first three-pointer gave Artesia a 50-46 lead and his second gave the Pioneers a 55-46 advantage.

O’Quinn and Murdock each scored 19 points for Artesia, whose only loss of the season was a 61-51 decision to Westchester in a tournament in December.