Prep Playoffs CITY BOYS : Van Nuys Pins a Star on Meyer

Pat Meyer has spent the season playing in the 6-8 shadow of Anthony Cook. When not in Cook’s shadow, he’s been on the sidelines nursing a sprained ankle.

Meyer picked the right time to jump into the limelight, though.

Starting in his first game in two weeks, he scored a team-high 24 points to lead Van Nuys High to a 75-67 victory over Jefferson in a City 3-A quarterfinal game at Van Nuys.

The win was the Wolves’ 16th straight and improved their overall record to 21-2. Van Nuys, which is seeded second in the playoffs behind Fairfax, advances to the semifinals Friday at home against San Pedro.

After seeing Meyer hit 10 of 17 shots from the field and Cook, an all-City selection, score 19 points and block eight shots, Wolf Coach Jeff Halpern was optimistic about Van Nuys’ chances for a City championship.

“We’ve been waiting for Pat to come back, he’s been tough all year,” Halpern said. “He’s deceptively quick and he can really shoot. When he hits from outside, like he did tonight, and Anthony plays his game inside, we can play with anyone. When you rely on one player, like Jefferson did, you get beat.”

Van Nuys scored the first eight points of the game but the Democrats came back to tie, 14-14. Behind Dartagian Wise’s game-high 33 points, Jefferson (13-8) remained within striking distance at the half. They trailed, 34-33, but the Wolves went on a 12-2 run to open the third quarter and put the game out of reach.

San Pedro 76, Reseda 73

Third-seeded San Pedro ended Reseda’s reign as City 3-A division champion, beating the Regents in a quarterfinal game at the Sports Arena.

The Regents (16-6), who won the 3-A title two straight seasons, lost for the first time in 10 playoff games.

San Pedro forward Zlatko Josic had 24 points, 13 rebounds and 8 steals, while guard Otis Livingstone scored 12 of his 21 points in the second half to lead the Pirates.

San Pedro (15-4) will play Van Nuys--a 75-67 winner over Jefferson--in the semifinals Friday.

The game was evenly contested throughout most of the first half, and the Regents took a 39-37 lead into the locker room at intermission. The teams also played evenly throughout the third period, and the Regents led, 57-55, going into the fourth quarter.

The Pirates outscored the Regents by 10 points in the first six minutes of the fourth quarter, however, to take a 69-62 lead with two minutes left in the game.

The Pirates’ victory was due in large part to their execution at the free-throw line, which Pirate Coach Jack Kordich found ironic.

“Our worst two free-throw shooters (Josic and Curt Jones) turned out to play a large part in our victory with their performance at the line, “ Kordich said.

Jones was 7 of 8 and Josic was 6 of 8 from the line.