San Diego Prep Basketball : Morse Gallops Away With a 78-58 Victory Over Serra

If it’s a running game a team wants, No. 5-ranked Morse High School is only too happy to oblige.

Serra found that out Friday as the Tigers (1-0, 7-4) ran away with a 78-58 victory at Morse in the City Eastern League opener for both teams.

Morse’s team speed was obvious from the outset, as the Tigers scored on a number of fast-break baskets in the first quarter. The Tigers’ man-to-man defense forced No. 10-ranked Serra into committing a number of turnovers that helped Morse to a 41-23 halftime lead.

The Tigers had a 25-point lead through three quarters, 59-34, and Morse was able to maintain nearly a 20-point advantage through much of the game’s final quarter, despite playing its reserves.

“We’ve been playing good ball until tonight,” Serra Coach Tom Williams said. “We’ve been shooting 54%, but tonight we were intimidated. We just had to play a good ballgame, but we played a terrible game and they played good.”

Serra (0-1, 9-4) opened the game’s scoring on Deven Moran’s jump shot, but waited seven minutes before scoring again. In the meantime, Morse scored 16 points to take control of the game.

Moran scored again for Serra with 30 seconds left in the first quarter. Morse’s David Hardin completed the first quarter scoring with a basket to give the Tigers an 18-4 lead.

Morse guard Paul Bryant hurt Serra the most in the fast-paced first period, scoring 10 points in addition to grabbing 6 rebounds.

The game’s early pace forced Conquistador turnovers that were quickly turned into Tiger layups. Serra’s inability to hit close, open shots was also a factor in the game’s first quarter.

“At the end of the first quarter, we felt we could control the tempo of the game and we wanted to keep running,” Morse Coach Ron Davis said. “They (Serra) have been playing well all year, if you look at their record, and that comes from running. It was more to our advantage when they started running. We rely on our quickness and speed.

Said Williams: “What could we do. They have all that height, so we couldn’t just stand back and watch.”

The Conquistadors began finding the mark in the second quarter, but failed to gain on the Tigers because of their failure to convert free throws. Morse was over the limit in fouls in the game’s first quarter, but Serra didn’t take advantage in the bonus situation. The Conquistadors missed the front end of five out of seven one-and-ones in the first half.

Morse maintained control in the third quarter with Bryant scoring 10 of his game-high 23 points. Center Chris Jeeter helped the Tiger cause with 8 of his 10 points coming in the third quarter. The efforts of the two nullified the 15 points scored by Serra’s Steve Smith and 12 by Moran.