PREP BASKETBALL : Southern Section 4-A Playoffs : Dana Hills Collapses as Dominguez Erupts for 64-48 Win

It took nearly three quarters of play for Dominguez High School to figure out a way to get something going against Dana Hills, and once it did, the Dons cruised to a 64-48 victory at San Clemente Tuesday night.

The Dolphins held a 35-31 lead halfway through the third quarter, but a 12-point run sparked by Chris Ceballos’ six points gave Dominguez the lead at the end of the quarter.

“The end of the third really was the turning point in the game,” Dominguez Coach Ernest Carr said. “That really swung the momentum to our side, and we carried it throughout the fourth quarter.”

What hurt the Dolphins was a switch in the Dons’ defense. Carr changed from man-to-man to a collapsing zone, which shut down Dana Hills’ top scorer, Bryan McSweeney.

The Dolphins went six minutes without a field goal late in the game, and McSweeney was held scoreless in the fourth quarter.

“They really made Bryan work for his shots,” Dana Hills Coach Steve Thornton said. “He was being double-teamed and was going against some guys with a lot of talent.”

Dana Hills kept the game tight in the early going behind the shooting of McSweeney, who finished with 15 points. The Dolphins seemed to have things well in hand until the Dons rallied.

With 3:37 left in the third quarter, Terrance Pope hit a jumper to start the rally that ended with a slam by Ceballos after he had stolen the ball. Dominguez was hot from the floor at the start of the fourth quarter, hitting five straight shots.

“I was really concerned when we were behind in the third quarter,” Carr said. “We called a timeout and made some adjustments, and they (the adjustments) seemed to confuse them a bit.”

The zone defense did cause problems for the Dolphins because they had trouble getting the ball into McSweeney. His teammates seemed a bit hesitant at taking outside shots.

Dana Hills’ attempt to catch up by fouling the Dons also caused the Dolphins trouble. Dominguez had hit only 5 of 12 free throws in the first three quarters, but connected on 11 of 15 in the fourth quarter.

Curtis Williams had a big night for the Dons. The 6-7 senior scored 21 points and led his team with key defensive plays.

“Williams was the factor for us tonight,” Carr said. “He’s the one who gets the team going. It also helps when you can get some scoring from the bench. Ceballos (21 points) has also picked up our team when it was needed.”

Dominguez (20-5) advances to the third round of the 4-A playoffs against Sea View League champion Newport Harbor. Dana Hills ended its season with an 18-6 record.