CIF SoCal roundup: No. 5 Lincoln is stunned by Summit

LOS ANGELES - It was a stunning development to be sure.

Tenth-seeded Summit (Fontana) outscored top-seeded Lincoln (San Diego) 14-1 to open the fourth quarter and then held on for a 56-48 Southern California Regional Championship Division II victory at the Galen Center on Saturday.

The run was surprising enough considering Lincoln seemed to be in control.

More so because Lincoln (32-2) is the defending state champion, No. 5 in the MaxPreps Xcellent 25 and had lost to only Long Beach Poly this season.

They also feature one of the most dynamic players in the state - if not the country - in UCLA-bound Norman Powell.

Summit (28-7) got 18 points from Montigo Alford, including nine in a row during Summit's big run.

"Summit hit some tough shots in the fourth quarter," said Lincoln coach Jason Bryant. "I can't count how many bank shots. When you start hitting three, four, five bank shots, you know the other team is on."

Lincoln led through three quarters, 56-48, but went the first 3:51 of the fourth quarter without scoring, and had only one field goal through the first 6:54, until Powell's three-pointer cut the deficit to 68-67 with 1:06 remaining.

But Devon Alexander writhed to the basket like a flying snake to make it 70-67 with 34 seconds to go, and Alford's free throw made it 71-67 with 18 seconds left.

"We've been playing like this all year," said Summit coach Steve Hickey. "At the start of the year we were finding our identity, and playing tough taems early helped these guys have success."

Summit also got 14 points from Darrick Arnold and 12 apiece from Devon Alexander and Cameron Lewis.

Powell scored 21 for Lincoln, and was complemented by Rasean Simpson with 15 and Josh Smith with 12.

"It's disappointing," said Powell. "We had high expectations to be the two-time state champion. It's pretty disappointing."



Division I
Mater Dei (Santa Ana) 76, Centennial-Corona 64

The last time they played each other, and Mater Dei had blown a 10-point lead to Corona Centennial with 10 minutes to play, Coach Gary McKnight said his team played as if it had lost its confidence.

No reason to lack confidence now.

With only one senior among its top 10 players, fourth-seeded Mater Dei will play for the state title after avenging that loss to second-seeded Centennial.

"This group just keeps getting better," said Mater Dei coach Gary McKnight. "This team beat us a few weeks ago and we could've rolled over. Instead we won four in a row and beat a good Long Beach Poly team. What a great run."

Eighteen days ago, Centennial (30-5) came back from a 10-point deficit with 10 minutes remaining to score a 60-58 victory. This time, it was Mater Dei (31-3) that came back.

The Monarchs trailed by as many as 10 points in the second quarter, 33-23. At halftime, they trailed 34-27.

"If you'd have told me before the game that I had a seven point lead, I'd have taken it," said Centennial coach Josh Giles. Instead, he was disappointed because of the missed opportunities. "I thought we had a chance in the second quarter to put it away. They had four or five possessions in a row where they didn't score, but neither did we.

"We started off the third quarter as bad as we could."

A 9-2 run by Mater Dei tied the score at 36, and the Monarchs closed the third quarter with the final nine points.

"I didn't think we met their intensity in the first half," McKnight said. "In the second half, defensively we stepped up 10-fold and offensively we attacked the basket."

Perhaps nobody was more aggressive than Stanley Johnson, a 6-foot-5 freshman. He scored eight in the third quarter as Mater Dei took a 47-42 lead.

"He had 14 points, 12 rebounds and he turns 15 in a month-and-a-half," McKnight said. "I can be a really good coach for three more years."

He would probably settle for being a good coach for just one more game. Mater Dei has positioned itself to win its eighth state title next Saturday against Concord De La Salle on Saturday, 8 p.m. De La Salle defeated Castro Valley, 49-43.

Dominique Dunning scored 20 for Centennial, while Michael Caffey scored 19 and Gelaun Wheelwright 13.

"I just wanted us to win so bad," Johnson said. "In the first half was I was letting people box me out. I wasn't playing aggressive. I was really passive. I had 16 minutes left in the season, I left it all on the floor."

Predictably, Centennial was a reluctant loser — the Huskies pulled to 47-47 — before another 9-0 run by Mater Dei that was essentially capped by a five-point play.

David Brown hit a three-pointer, and Mater Dei retained possession on a foul.

Before any time went off the clock, Xavier Johnson was fouled and he converted two free throws to make it 56-47 with 6:23 left.

Four Monarchs scored in double figures, including Katin Reinhardt (19), Xavier Johnson (16) and senior David Brown (11); another, Eli Stalzer, scored eight.

"We're better when a lot of people contribute," McKnight said. "We're not at our best when only a few people contribute."

Division III
La Verne Lutheran 57, La Canada 45

A box-and-one with Bruce English taking on Michael McGlashan was a critical component as 11th-seeded Lutheran (26-5) defeated top-seeded La Canada (30-4) in a game much closer than the score indicated.

McGlashan scored a team-high 19, but only seven in the second half as Lutheran switched defenses and broke open a game tied at 34-34 early in the fourth quarter. Lutheran out-rebounded the Spartans, 29-16, and used its size to wear down La Canada.

Holding a 44-40 lead with 2:35 remaining, Lutheran center Grant Jarrett scored a 13-footer from the baseline, and then Eric Cooper — with the shot clock dwindling — hit a three-point basket with 1:36 to go to put the game out of reach, 49-40.

Lutheran, the Division V state champion a year ago, got another big play at 49-45 with 1:01 left when C.J. Cooper stole the ball when it appeared La Canada was headed for a breakaway to make it a two-point game. Jarrett scored 22, Bruce English 15 and C.J. Cooper 10. Matt Faber added 14 for La Canada.

Division IV
Windward (Los Angeles, Calif.) 58, Oaks Christian (Westlake Village, Calif.) 52

At Colony High School in Ontario, Nick Stover had 16 points and Wes Saunders added eight points and nine rebounds leading the 2009 state champions to victory. Taylor Hange had 12 points for Oaks Christian (26-8) which were missing a couple of starters early due to discipline problems. Windward, which improved to 26-8, now plays another 2009 state champion in Salesian-Richmond.

Windward won the D5 state crown that year and Salesian D4. Salesian edged St. Mary's-Berkeley 59-53 on Saturday.

Division V
St. Bernard (Playa del Rey) 61, Sierra Canyon (Chatsworth) 59

Thurman Thomas scored a putback at the buzzer, leading the Vikings to the dramatic win at Colony. Thomas and Daniel Cordoba had 13 points apiece. Michael Cohen paced Sierra Canyon with 15 points but high-scoring guard Jahmel Taylor was limited to four.

St. Bernard, which plays St. Joseph Notre Dame in the state finals, is now 26-8 while Sierra Canyon finished 27-6.

GIRLS

Division I
Mater Dei (Santa Ana) 59, Canyon Springs (Moreno Valley) 44

Dragging a leg with a pulled muscle, and playing in the background for the first three quarters, Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis showed exactly why she has made Mater Dei such a special program the last four seasons.

She scored 13 points in the fourth quarter and turned a two-point game into a victory for the nation's No. 1 team at the Galen Center. 

"We kept it close, tried to say in front, then had the really big spurt there," said Mater Dei caoch Kevin Kiernan. "We're kind of beat up. ... You kind of have to pick and choose your spots when you go hard. We got that run and made the most of it."

Mater Dei had relied on Alexyz Vaioletama for the first three quarters.

Playing on her future home court as a USC recruit, Vaioletama scored 17 points as Mater Dei took a 39-35 lead into the final eight minutes. Cheyenne Greenhouse scored for Canyon Springs to make it a two-point game, and then Lewis scored eight of her team's next 10 points.

Canyon Springs (30-4) - which led in the first minute of the second half - wilted in the process as it fell behind, 49-37. Just like that, Mater Dei (33-1) was in control and on its way to Sacramento for the second year in a row.

The Monarchs won the state title last season, and will try to win the program's third when it plays Berkeley on Saturday, 6 p.m.

"You've got to work through the pain," Lewis said.

Mater Dei knows all about the pain, and working through it.

'She willed herself, and us, to the win," Kiernan said. "It's not just her talent, it's her mental toughness.

"This division is the toughest I've ever seen. It's been a tough march. Survive and advance, and hope we have enough."

Mater Dei is banged up. Point guard Jordan Adams (five points) said she was at about 60 percent health after suffering a dislocated shoulder that kept her out of the Monarchs' last game. Kiki Alofaituli (12 points) had a bum shoulder, too.

Alexas Williamson missed the game because of an appendectomy.

And Vaioletama, who has been tremendous through the playoffs missed all of last season with stress fractures in both shins.

"It's nice to see her on the floor," Kiernan said. "It's tough for a high school kid to watch her teammates go on. That's one of my biggest pleasures, seeing her play all year."

Division II
Rialto (Rialto, Calif.) 44, Buena (Ventura, Calif.) 42

For the second time in two weeks, Janae Sharpe made a basket as time expired to beat Buena. The first time came in the Southern Section Division 2AA finals when she dribbled away the final 17 seconds before scoring on a drive to the basket.

This time, with 2.8 seconds, she took a football pass on the run and launched a shot from the free throw line that fell as the buzzer sounded. Sharpe had eight points. Brittani Walker scored 12 and Summer Webb 10 for Rialto (33-3), which won its first section title this season and is going to the state finals for the first time.

Keani Albanez, who was whistled for a controversial offensive foul with 2.8 seconds to set up the final play, led Buena (26-8) with 19 points.

Division III
St. Joseph (Santa Maria) 54, Serra (Gardena) 45

As the shot clock expired and her team holding a 46-43 lead — it had earlier been 16 points — Alyson Beebe made an eight-foot baseline jumper that her coach called the most important shot of the season.

The 6-3 junior's basket with 2:10 remaining held off top-seeded Serra (29-6), which didn't score again until the
final buzzer. Beebe had 17 points, 15 rebounds, four blocks and three assists.

Heather Madrigal added 15 points as St. Joseph (28-6) reached its first State Final since going back-to-back in 1990 and 1991. Bria Richardson's 15 points led Serra, which had beaten St. Joseph in the Southern Section Division 3AA championship.

Division IV
Windward (Los Angeles) 68, La Jolla Country Day 58

After losing two times to the San Diego Section champions, Windward got it right as Imani Stafford, a 6-7 junior, had nine points and 16 rebounds at Colony High. Stafford didn't play the first two times against Country Day so she obviously made a huge difference.

Courtney Jaco drilled six 3-pointers for 18 points, Jordin Canada added 14 and Kristen Simon 11 for the winners. Sophomore guard Kelsey Plum had 18 points and Maya Hood contributed a double-double with 10 points and 12 rebounds for Country Day.

Division V
St. Bernard (Playa del Rey) 60, Santa Clara (Oxnard) 45

Also at Colony, four players scored in double figures as fourth-seeded St. Bernard outscored second-seeded Santa Clara by nine points in the fourth quarter. Kacy Swain led all scorers with 15 points, and teammates Lajuana Drummer scored 14, Chyanne Butler 11 and Destini French 10.

The game featured 69 free throws as both teams committed 25 fouls; St. Bernard made 18 of 34 charity shots and Santa Clara 19 of 35.

Some information in this report was based on information obtained from other websites.