Irvine Tournament : Santa Ana High’s Grand Old Man Puts the Saints in Title Game

If anybody had bothered to take a census during the semifinal game of the Irvine Tournament at University High School Friday, it would have revealed a mini-baby boom in the shadow of the backboard.

That’s where 6-foot 7-inch Woodbridge sophomore Adam Keefe and 6-6 Santa Ana sophomore Bobby Joyce cast a pair of long shadows while battling for control over the inside territory.

Meanwhile, six other Santa Ana underclassmen took turns roaming the perimeter.

But in the end, the game’s decisive shot did not involve any of the members of the youth movement.

When it came time for the winner with four seconds left, it was the Saints’ grand old man, senior Eric Turner, who settled matters.

His off-balance, nine-foot jumper was as flat as day-old champagne, but its swish was a cause for a Saint celebration of a 48-46 victory.

Woodbridge (6-2) will play Foothill for third place at 6:30 p.m. today at University. The championship game, featuring Santa Ana (5-2) and John W. North of Riverside, will follow at 8.

It’s clear that the Saints are happy that football season is finally over and their lone senior starter--Turner--has returned from his quarterbacking conquest of the CIF Southern Conference title.

Santa Ana won only one of its first three games with the baby-boomers playing by their lonesome. But since their reunion with Turner, the team has won four straight. In the semifinal Thursday, he led all scorers with 17 points.

“We’re really pleased to make the championship because a lot of people wrote us off after our first week when we were 1-2,” Saint Coach Greg Coombs said. “But now we’ve got one guy back . . . and he gives them confidence.

“Last week, it was like, ‘I don’t want it (the ball)! You don’t want it! Let’s give it to the coach and let him shoot it because we don’t want to screw up.”

Coombs saw his youthful group gain confidence Thursday as it overcame well-balanced Woodbridge, which held a narrow lead for much of the game with Keefe’s play underneath and the twin outside threats of Mike Sullivan (14 points) and Mike Murphy (12 points).

Keefe scored three quick baskets and dominated the boards as the Warriors took a 12-7 lead in the first quarter. But the Saints retaliated by sandwiching Keefe between Turner and Joyce, who blocked four shots.

“I thought Bobby Joyce really came into his own tonight,” Coombs said. “He saw the job to be done and he rose to the occasion.”

The fouls mounted for the Saints and one of their best shooters, junior Jeff Stewart, spent most of the game on the bench.

Keefe steadily added points from the free throw line, and finished the game with 13 points, but Santa Ana managed to hamper him enough that he never managed another basket from the field after his powerful first quarter.

For a while, it appeared that the Warriors would simply switch to their external attack as Murphy and Sullivan shot with great accuracy from the outside and corners.

However, Santa Ana rattled the Warriors with a couple of wild-and-woolly episodes of man-to-man pressure in the second and fourth quarters. The Warriors, who still held a 23-21 advantage at the half, periodically found their tidy offense all tangled up.

The Saints stalled and spread the court with less than two minutes to play, until sophomore guard Scooti Lynwood seized an opportunity to drive inside and score for a 46-43 Santa Ana lead.

Murphy immediately put Woodbridge back to within a point with a jumper. Moments later, Keefe was fouled in the process of shooting what might have been the winning shot. He made one free throw to tie the game at 46-46. But his second shot bounced off to the left, setting the stage for Turner’s final basket.

WOODBRIDGE (46)--Murphy 12, Keefe 13, Bryan 2, Sullivan 14, Rounaghi 2, York 3.

SANTA ANA (48)--Lynwood 4, Stewart 6, Bailey 7, Lane 2, Joyce 12, Turner 17.

In other Irvine Tournament action:

John W. North 74, Foothill 60--Robby Washington, Eric Brown and Andy Johnson all scored in double figures to lead the Huskies into tonight’s championship game. North had a 37-34, halftime lead and outscored the Knights, 18-10, in the third quarter. Derek Johnson led Foothill (5-1) with 22 points.

JOHN W. NORTH (74)--Brown 19, Johnson 16, Washington 22, Schanz 9, Walker 8.

FOOTHILL (60)--Johnson 22, Schlines 12, Grahovac 14, Jordan 6, Rasmussen 6.

Estancia 74, Canyon 60--Senior center Ron Brazell had 12 of his game-high 25 points in the third quarter to help the Eagles break open a close game at Irvine High. Estancia (3-3) led, 32-30, at halftime, but outscored the Comanches, 20-11 in the third quarter. Ralph Garcia led Canyon (3-6) with 24 points.

Estancia plays Moreno Valley for consolation championship today at 2 p.m. at University High.

CANYON (60)--Ream 7, Garcia 24, Mury 10, Williams 4, Paulish 6, Pierce 4, Boyer 2, Snow 2.

ESTANCIA (74)--Mooney 5, Rusick 12, Brazell 25, Trejo 10, Covey 4, Tift 5, Pinckney 12, Baker 1.

Mission Viejo 90, Rancho Alamitos 55--Jeff Herdman had 23 points to lead three Mission Viejo players in double figures as the Diablos advanced to the fifth-place game. Herdman scored 15 points in the second quarter to help Mission Viejo (7-1) take a 39-22 halftime lead. Rancho Alamitos was playing without starting guard Roger Carter, who was ill. Craig Paquette led the Vaqueros with 16 points.

RANCHO ALAMITOS (55)--Morales 15, Velasquez 6, Paquette 16, Flores 8, Rambayon 8, Wagner 2.

MISSION VIEJO (90)--Knowles 14, Herdman 23, Pederson 7, Mathews 6, Barrett 8, Brown 20, Parrott 4, Billups 2, Kelly 2, Stringam 4.

Marina 60, Orange 41--Mike Meyers led Marina’s 23-8 scoring spurt in the third quarter as the Vikings advanced to the seventh-place game with the win at University High. Mark Georgeson had 14 points and 12 rebounds for Marina (6-3). Dave Roth had a game-high 19 points for Orange (4-4).

ORANGE (41)--Roth 19, Dowell 2, Holman 4, J. Smith 2, Point 2, Adams 4, Soldan 4, S. Smith 2, Litwin 2.

MARINA (60)--Georgeson 14, Guild 3, Meyers 16, Quinn 8, Craft 8, Hayslette 3, Martin 2, Sterzer 6.

Irvine 78, El Toro 73--Mike Herring had 22 points and 9 rebounds as the Vaqueros advanced to the seventh-place game with the win over their South Coast League rivals. Jeff Stone had a game-high 24 points to lead El Toro. Irvine (6-3) took a 59-48 lead into the fourth quarter and had to hold off El Toro’s late rally.

IRVINE (78)--Patchell 15, Tamura 9, Herring 22, Moceri 6, Raye 8, Snoddy 8, Norton 2, Oden 8.

EL TORO (73)--Tobey 4, Johnson 16, Wayland 6, Cuttrell 2, Speaker 21, Stone 24.

Corona del Mar 68, Fountain Valley 42--Jeff Fryer had a game-high 25 points and Tim Christensen grabbed 17 rebounds to lead the Sea Kings to the surprisingly easy win. Corona del Mar (6-1) shot 53.4% (31 of 58) from the field. Doug Green added 20 points for the Sea Kings. Todd Hanson led Fountain Valley with 10 points.

FOUNTAIN VALLEY (42)--Wessler 4, Johnson 4, Waite 5, Borgguist 1, Hanson 10, Gordon 1, Rochlen 9, Briggs 8.

CORONA DEL MAR (68)--Fryer 25, Christensen 8, Green 20, McGrath 4, Muller-Stach 2, Hook 5, Boatman 4.