Serra Beats Morse With Fans’ Help : 52-50 Win Forces Playoff Friday to Determine Top Seed

Serra High School’s starters got little or no rest during the City Eastern League basketball showdown against Morse Wednesday. Only one starter received a rest, and that was for three minutes.

But when the Conquistadors needed help late in the game, they didn’t look toward the bench. They relied on people sitting behind the bench--the Serra fans.

With that support, the visitors rallied from a 42-36 fourth-period deficit to beat the Tigers, 52-50. The two teams will play again Friday at 6 p.m. at Madison High to decide the top seed for the playoffs. The winner will be at home for the first round on Tuesday. Serra (8-2 in league, 20-3 overall) and Morse (8-2, 16-5) are both assured of playoff berths.

“I wish Morse fans were as vocal as Serra fans,” said Tiger Coach Ron Davis. “I expected more from our home crowd. When their fans came on late in the game, that was the turning point for (Serra).”

The Serra fans had plenty to be happy about in the final minutes, as the Conquistadors finally overcame Morse. With 2:01 remaining, Serra’s Deven Moran sank a shot from the corner to tie the game at 48-48. With 1:10 left, Moran made two free throws for a 50-48 Serra lead.

Steve Smith and Moran each added a free throw to give Serra a 52-48 lead. Morse scored a concession basket before time ran out. Davis said he views Wednesday’s loss as a learning experience for his young team.

“Losing will help with the younger kids,” he said. “They are learning what it takes to be in a big game like this.”

Morse’s Rey Parsons said he felt the Tigers did not treat the game seriously enough.

“During warmups, some of the guys didn’t seem like they wanted to play,” said Parsons, who had 15 steals and 8 points. “We don’t play as a team all the time and that really hurts us.”

Parsons said his team was trying to tire the Conquistadors. “We were trying to force them into a running game,” Parsons said. “But our players weren’t coming out and meeting the passes . . . (They) weren’t playing as hard as they could.”

Morse, despite its team height advantage over Serra, was outrebounded, 38-29.

“If you can get good position and put on the screens, you can take away some of that height,” Serra Coach Tom Williams said.

The Conquistadors weren’t without their problems, however. Sloppy play by both teams marred the second and third periods, and Serra did not shoot well in the second quarter.

“In the second quarter we forced a lot of shots,” said Serra’s Moran, who finished with 13 points. “We were getting too caught up in us winning and we wanted to keep on going.”

Anthony Moore led the Conquistadors with 14 points. Jeter led Morse with 16 points and Barney Laffitte added 12.