San Diego Prep Basketball : BOYS 2-A: Reigning Champ Meets Surprise Contender

When Oceanside’s Pirates take the Sports Arena floor for tonight’s San Diego Section boys 2-A championship game against Mission Bay, they will be on familiar hardwood. They captured the 2-A championship on the same court a year ago.

Mission Bay, on the other hand, is a bit surprised just to be in a championship game for the first time.

“We’re just real excited about it,” Buccanner forward Jon Cheatham said. “We’re just happy to be here. We really wanted the Western League championship. We never talked about anything past that.”

Did Mission Bay Coach Mike Seaman expect his team to get this far?

“No,” he said. “I felt that if we got some breaks, we’d have a chance. But the kids have improved tremendously since the start of the season. They’ve gained confidence along the way and wanted to succeed.”

The Bucs won their first Western title in 22 years by beating Kearny at Kearny in the last game of the regular season. In the playoffs, Mission Bay beat Crawford, 56-53, and El Camino, 60-52. The Buccaneers come into the game against Oceanside with a 19-5 record.

Mission Bay is in a position to win the 2-A title, even though the Bucs have been without starting guard Juan Ruiz most of the season. When Ruiz tore a calf muscle against La Jolla early in the year, Seaman replaced him with a forward, John Hemmerly. Brent Chandler (6-7) and Cheatham (6-3) join Hemmerly up front. Both are capable scorers and rebounders. Chandler, who has a 19.5 scoring average in the playoffs, led the Bucs in scoring and rebounding during the regular season. Cheatham has averaged 13 points per game in the postseason.

In the backcourt, Mission Bay has Rodney Henderson and Mike Rogers.

Oceanside, 18-6 including playoff wins over Hoover and Chula Vista, likes to take its time on offense, killing as much of the clock as possible until finding a good shot. That style of play is one reason why the Pirates allow only about 46 points a game, a San Diego County low.