Ocean View succumbs to press, falls to Knight in quarterfinals

A magical season ended on Tuesday night for the Ocean View High boys’ basketball team. The No. 3-seeded Seahawks’ comeback attempt landed short in the quarterfinals of the CIF Southern Section Division 3AA playoffs.

The host Seahawks fell to Palmdale Knight, who rode a game-high 28 points from junior forward Dajour Lewis to a 67-58 victory.

The Hawks (23-5) will return home for a semifinal matchup set for Friday against Twentynine Palms (23-8). Twentynine Palms defeated Lawndale Leuzinger 88-79 in the quarterfinals on Tuesday.

As for Ocean View, the loss ends a memorable 2017-18 campaign that included a 10-0 run to the program’s fourth consecutive Golden West League title.

“It’s been a fun year with a good group of kids,” said Ocean View co-coach Tim Walsh, whose team exited in the quarterfinals for the second time in three seasons. “They constantly battled. They did pretty much everything you asked them to do. We dug ourselves a hole right away, and they didn’t go away. They kept battling back. It’s kind of who they were.”

The resiliency referenced by Walsh was on full display on Tuesday.

In the early moments, it appeared as if an ugly night was about to unfold for Ocean View (24-5). Knight opened the game in a full-court press, a defensive strategy it held throughout. The Seahawks appeared overwhelmed from the opening tip, committing nine first-quarter turnovers and allowing their opponent to jump out to a 19-3 lead.

Staring down a 16-point deficit, the Seahawks regrouped following a timeout and closed out the first quarter on a 9-4 run. The start to the second quarter brought more peril, as a triple from Mekhi Williams and a lost turnover leading to two points stretched the Knight lead to 28-14.

Then, Ocean View senior Seth Mishler caught fire from behind the arc to turn a potential rout into a one-possession game. In a span of two minutes, Mishler, who finished with a team-high 21 points on seven three-pointers, knocked down four consecutive threes to cut the lead to two.

Despite this run — and several others in the second half — the Seahawks could never pull ahead. With 21 points from Williams and 11 from William Grant, to go along with Lewis’ monster night, the Hawks never relinquished their lead, nor allowed a tie after scoring on the game’s opening possession.

“That first run was really important, but before we left the team room, we talked about not getting too up or too down,” Knight coach Tom Hegre said. “We were going to make runs and they were going to make runs. They obviously did to come back, and our guys didn’t falter. They kept their heads. A lot of teams would have been pretty down coming out in the second half, being up only six after the way we were at the beginning.

“We talked at halftime about making the first run and playing smart in the second half, and we took care of it.”

For the Seahawks, Knight’s full-court press reintroduced a matchup problem that had given them trouble during the regular season.

“It’s the one thing we have not been really good at this year,” Ocean View co-coach Roger Holmes said of the attacking the press. “We thought we were a little better ready for it, but you throw one soft pass and it’s gone with these guys. They’re really good. They’ve won 16 out of their last 17 games for a reason. They’re 14-0 in their [Golden League] and played some really good teams. You just can’t turn it over like that and beat them at the end.”

As Knight looks to extend its season, Ocean View will prepare for a significant roster overhaul.

The Seahawks graduate eight seniors, including big man Mehkel Harvey, who had a triple-double and wreaked havoc with 10 blocks in his Ocean View finale. Harvey added 14 points and 16 rebounds. Paul Head, who had 13 points, is also graduating.

With a pair of returning starters and a promising freshman with varsity experience, though, there is ample room for optimism.

“We’re losing a lot of guys,” Walsh said. “But we also have two starters in Carson [Nguyen] and Vince [Caiazzo] coming back. Plus, a strong freshman year out of Slater Miller, and some good lower levels. Carson really got better as the year went on, and that’s going to big for us next year with what he can do. Vince has been great for us the past couple years as well. Their leadership is going to be important going forward.

“A lot of guys without varsity experience are going to be asked to play, and we’re going to need those guys to step up and lead by example.”

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CIF Southern Section Division 3AA playoffs

Quarterfinals

Knight 67, Ocean View 58

SCORE BY QUARTERS

Knight 23 – 14 – 12 – 18 — 67

Ocean View 12 – 19 – 15 – 12 — 58

K – Lewis 28, Williams 21, Grant 11, Smith 5, Reyes 2.

3-pt. goals – Williams 3, Grant 1.

Fouled out – None.

Technicals – None.

OV – Mishler 21, Harvey 14, Head 13, Nguyen 5, Washington 5.

3-pt. goals – Mishler 7, Head 3, Nguyen 1.

Fouled out – Nguyen.

Technicals – None.

JOSH CRISWELL is a contributor to Times Community News. Follow him on Twitter: @joshccriswell