El Dorado Gets Around St. Anthony’s Big Man

It took El Dorado High School a while to make the adjustments, but once the Golden Hawks did, they rolled past St. Anthony, 92-70, to win the Fountain Valley Tournament Friday night before 350 in the Barons’ Gym.

The adjustment was to Saint center Jamie Cardriche, a 6-foot 8-inch, 325 pounder. But the once the Golden Hawks started to run around him late in the first quarter and after he fouled out early in the fourth quarter, El Dorado had little trouble.

In the first half, Jim Sammons, the tournament’s most valuable player, scored 16 points, mostly on outside shots. In the second half, he and teammate Rob Hanna moved into the now open middle and finished off the Saints. The Golden Hawks scored 31 points in the fourth quarter.

Sammons, a 6-3 senior forward, scored 30 points. The night before, against Long Beach Millikan, he scored 35.

It was Hanna, also named to the all-tournament team, who really took advantage of the open middle. He scored 16 of his 28 points in the second half, including 10 in the fourth quarter when El Dorado was able to take full advantage of its fast break.

“The team was a little bit tentative looking at the size of their one individual,” Terry Conley, the El Dorado coach said. “Once we were able to make a full-court game of it, we just got them on the run and were able to win.”

El Dorado used its running game to recover from a scoreless first three minutes when the Golden Hawks fell behind 8-0 before finally taking the lead, 18-16, on a last-second shot by Sammons after he stole the ball from sophomore guard Derrick Martin who was setting up for the last shot of the quarter.

After the Golden Hawks opened up a 10-point lead at the half, 41-31, St. Anthony had its last real chance to narrow the margin late in the third quarter but couldn’t make a move.

The Saints were finally able to break the Golden Hawks’ zone defense and get the ball inside to Cardriche. The mammoth center scored six straight points to bring the Saints close at 55-49, with 50 seconds left in the third quarter, but the Golden Hawks scored the last six points to reestablish their lead, 61-49, entering the fourth quarter.

Cardriche scored 16 points, but was 2-11 from the free-throw line where the Saints were 12 of 26.

EL DORADO (92)--Sammons 30, Hanna 28, Glade 4, Bailey 11, Krapf 7, Dahmen 4, Byers 2, Page 4, Cardenas 2, Boone 2.

ST. ANTHONY (70)--Martin 7, Walter 5, Lewis 16, J.Anderson 22, Cardriche 16, McDonald 4.

In other Fountain Valley Tournament action:

Fountain Valley 45, Millikan 43--Junior center Kevin Waite made a short jump shot at the buzzer to give the Barons a come-from-behind win over the Rams for third place.

Millikan (3-3) committed a turnover with the score tied, 43-43, and eight seconds left. The Barons played for one shot and missed it, but Waite got the rebound and scored as time expired.

Fountain Valley (4-2) trailed, 36-28, after three quarters but outscored the Rams, 17-7, in the final period.

Guard Todd Hanson paced the Barons with 13 points, and Waite added 10. Millikan forward Ken Jarvis led all scorers with 16 points, all coming in the first three quarters.

MILLIKAN (43)--Williams 6, Carswell 10, Jarvis 16, Shettleworth 4, Holmes 4, Lawrence 3.

FOUNTAIN VALLEY (45)--Waite 10, Borquist 4, Hanson 13, Rochlen 8, Johnson 2, Wessler 6, Gordon 2.

Compton 53, Huntington Beach 44--The Tarbabes defeated the Oilers for fifth place.