Clippers reign supreme

As had been the case during the course of the regular season, the

Clippers and Blue Devils emerged as the top two teams in the Junior

Basketball League 2002 postseason tournament.

The teams shared the regular season title, entered the playoffs as the

top two seeds and, after a week of competition, they were the two teams

left standing.

Actually, the No. 2 seed Clippers needed a double knockout punch to

win the championship and they came up with just that as they twice

knocked off the No. 1 seed Blue Devils by scores of 70-54 and 63-52 at

Laguna Beach High.

Coached by Shawn Ridet and Austin Sands, the Clippers atoned for a

47-42 loss to the Blue Devils in the finals of the winners bracket.

They got back into title contention and at the same time knocked the

Bruins, coached by Shane Curran and Bobby Marquette, out with a 63-52

win.

League and tournament MVP Cheyne Martin hit for 25 points to lead the

Clippers in the win over the Bruins, Brandon David scored 14 points and

Nathan Pickett added 12.

Garrett Preston topped the Bruins with 17 points and was followed by

Sam Palfreyman’s 14, and 14 by Christopher Hyden.

The Bruins, the No. 3 seed, finished third in the tournament.

The Clippers took a three point lead into the final period.

Paced by Martin’s 22 points the next night, the Clippers handed the

Blue Devils, coached by Alex Norfleet, Dustin Pettit and Tyler Starow, a

70-54 setback.

Jonathon Begay netted 16 points, Pickett scored 14 and Ryah Arthur,

the recipient of the league’s Best Defensive Player award, contributed 13

points.

Bobby Monroe, taking up the slack for the absent Blue Devil center

Spencer Harrell, who missed the game due to illness, poured in a

game-high 31 points and led the team in rebounding.

That win forced a winner-take-all showdown and in the final, the

Clippers led the Blue Devils from wire-to-wire after forging a 30-20

halftime lead.

Martin, the league’s scoring leader, topped all scorers with 22

points, Arthur and Begay each had 11, Kevin Buck scored seven, Pickett

had six points, and Armand Begay and Brandon David each had a basket.

Other Clippers contributing to their title march were Dylan Doumeng

and Daniel Holman.

The Blue Devils received 19 points from Monroe, 10 from Harrell and

eight from Brendan Finnerty, named the league’s Most Improved Player and

best free throw shooter.

Finnerty was 3 for 4 from the foul line.

In other tournament action, the Trailblazers, coached by Walt Gabbard

and Trevor Lyle, finished the season with consecutive wins as they

defeated the Lakers, 70-64, and the Rainbows, 77-75.

Brian Delino, the league’s Best Offensive Player award winner, scored

33 and 44 points, respectively, in the two wins that gave the

Trailblazers, who finished in sixth place during the regular season, a

fourth place tournament finish.

Marcus Hairston scored 22 points, Brandon Reed had 18 and Brennan

Healey scored 19 in the two wins.

Matthew Renault hit for 30 points and Travis Grogan scored 25 to lead

the Peter Renault and Brendan Stephens coached the Lakers.

The Rainbows, under coaches Steven Kent and Brandon Leahy, were led by

Jeff Clark’s 30 points, 15 by Ty Flemming, which included three,

three-point baskets, and 12 by Ian Butters.

Butters finished the season as the league’s top three-point scorer.

Final Standings

1. Clippers (7-3 league, 12-4 overall); 2. Blue Devils (7-3, (0-5); 3.

Bruins (6-4, 8-7); 4. Lakers (5-5, 6-9); 5. Rainbows (4-6, 5-10), 6.

Trailblazers (1-9, 5-11).