PREP BASKETBALL : Santiago Tournament : Valencia Loses Title Game to Burbank, 50-49

Valencia High School Coach Ray Rodriguez said his pregame strategy Saturday against the Burbank Bulldogs was to hold them to less than 50 points.

But Rodriguez and his Tigers were a point short as Burbank captured the championship game of the Santiago Holiday Tournament, 50-49, at Santiago High School.

“Well, I guess that was a pretty good guess,” Rodriguez said after his team blew a three-pointthird-quarter lead. “They scored 50 and we lost.”

Burbank was led by tournament MVP Gary Lotka, who scored 20 points, 6 in the crucial final minutes. David Nielsen added 11 off the bench and was named to the all-tournament team along with teammate Orlando Cepeda, son of the famed St. Louis Cardinal baseball player.

Valencia was led by Norman Nakawaki’s 11 points, while Kevin Jones and David LaRue added 10 each.

The Bulldogs took the game away from the Tigers in the fourth quarter with a half-court press. Valencia led, 39-36, at the end of the third but committed four straight turnovers under the pressure. Burbank ran off a 10-2 spurt from which Valencia never recovered.

The game had been a close one throughout, with 5 ties and 10 lead changes. But Valencia’s 6-6 center, Geoff Adams, picked up his fourth foul early in the third quarter and sat out most of the second half. Rodriquez said his absence hurt.

When Adams did return in the fourth quarter, Valencia made one last stab at the championship but fell short.

LaRue’s 15-foot baseline jumper got the Tigers within two points, 49-47, with 20 seconds left in the game.

Burbank brought the ball inbounds and held it 15 seconds before Jeff Jensen could catch Tom Clansen and foul him. Jensen’s foul/shove was labled flagrant by the officials and he was ejected.

Clansen made one of the two free throws, but it was all Burbank needed. Valencia took the ball inbounds to LaRue, who made a half-court shot at the buzzer to give Valencia 49 points. But Burbank had its 50.

In other Santiago Tournament action:

Kennedy 68, Buena Park 63--Jeff Green scored 24 points to lead the Fighting Irish past the Coyotes in the third-place game. The 6-4 senior forward was named to the all-tournament team.

Kennedy started slowly and trailed, 12-4, in the first quarter. But the Fighting Irish outscored the Coyotes, 23-10, in the second quarter and never lost the lead.

Kennedy led by as many as 16 points in the third quarter, but Buena Park mounted one last late rally.

Pete Ybarra’s jumper with 29 seconds left in the game got the Coyotes as close as 65-63, but there the rally ended. Two free throws by Phil Galante and another by Darren Queen sealed the win for the Irish.

Santiago 53, Garden Grove 43--The Cavaliers broke out to a 12-5 first-quarter lead and never trailed in the consolation championship. Darryl Curry led Santiago (7-7) with 20 points, and Rick Burns added 10. The Argonauts (5-6) were paced by Brent Kaser’s 12 points and Raul Duran’s 10.