Despite the Score, Servite Gives Glendale Problems

Going into Friday night’s game at Servite High School, there was little hope that the Friars might actually upset Glendale, one of only three undefeated 4-A or 5-A teams remaining (Mater Dei and Lynwood are the other two) in the Southern Section.

And sure enough, they didn’t.

The Friars did, however, give the Nitros more trouble than they had a right to expect in a 60-45 nonleague loss.

Despite the lopsided outcome, Servite actually gave a very good accounting of itself in a game that ultimately served to both prepare the Friars for their upcoming Angelus League season and showcase one of the best teams in Southern California in the 12-0 Nitros.

Glendale is a team that went into the season with high expectations. The Nitros start five seniors, including highly regarded 6-2 guard Rich Grande and 6-8, 205-pound center Jan Svoboda. Nine of 11 players on the Glendale roster, in fact, are seniors.

Servite, meanwhile, is in something of an impromptu rebuilding year, what with the mass defection of seven players from last season’s team to other programs. The Friars now start two seniors, a junior and two sophomores.

Despite the apparent disadvantage in both experience and height--Servite’s tallest player is 6-5; Glendale’s front line goes 6-8, 6-7 and 6-5--the Friars outhustled the Nitros from the outset and jumped off to an early 16-11 first-quarter lead.

Servite scored well early because Glendale’s defense had difficulty adjusting to center Matt Honikel, the Friars’ biggest and most mobile player. Honikel scored 6 of his team-high 19 points in the first quarter, but as the game wore on, Honikel quickly drew attention every time he touched the ball as the Nitros resorted to double- and even triple-teaming him.

Unfortunately for the Friars, Honikel didn’t get much scoring help from his teammates. Only forward Tony Smalley, a 6-3 sophomore who loves to drive the baseline, managed to reach double-figures with 10 points.

Glendale shook off the slow start and outscored Servite in the second quarter, 13-6, sending it into the locker room with a two-point lead at halftime. Svoboda and forward Bob Mulcahey combined with the outside shooting of Grande to lead the comeback and put the Nitros ahead for good.

Playing more intensely in the second half, Glendale took control from the tip and quickly ran off a 9-4 spurt and was never headed from there. By the end of the third quarter, the Nitros were up 43-34 and by the late fourth quarter, the lead was 20 points.

In spite of the wide margin, the Glendale substitutes didn’t get in until there was less than a minute to play--all 60 of the Nitros’ points were scored by their starters.

Grande led all scorers with 23 points and Svoboda and Mulcahey followed him with 14 and 11 points, respectively.

For Servite (4-7), the game was a good sampling of some of the competition it will find in the Angelus League--namely, the other large parochial school in Orange County. First, however, the Friars open their league season on Friday at Pius X, one of the teams they will be vying against for the playoff spots behind Mater Dei.