SOUTHERN SECTION BASKETBALL PLAYOFFS : 3-A Division : Erbst Leads Katella Past Centennial

Bob Erbst scored 25 points and John Sanu added 12 Tuesday to lead Katella High School past Centennial High, 71-45, in a second-round Southern Section 3-A game at Dominguez High.

Erbst, who led all scorers, also had 7 assists, 5 blocked shots and 5 rebounds, as Katella (24-3) advanced into Friday night’s quarterfinals against Damien of La Verne.

Guard Allen Trent led Centennial with 16 points. The Apaches, the second-place team from the Pioneer League, finished the season at 11-11.

There were a total of 15 lead changes and ties before Katella went on a 13-2 scoring spurt in the second quarter. The Knights led, 27-16, with 2 1/2 minutes to go, and in the final minute Erbst helped the team increase its lead to 33-19 with a field goal and two free throws.

Centennial Coach Willie Emanuel had the Apaches open the third quarter in the same 2-3 zone they began the game with. Centennial stayed with the zone until it opened the final period trailing by 18 points.

That suited the Knights. Running a patient passing game, Katella frustrated the Apaches in the third quarter with its ball handling. When Centennial regained the ball, it often forced bad shots against a tough Knight man-to-man defense. The Apaches made only 9 of 30 field-goal attempts in the second half.

As methodical as the win appeared, Katella Coach Tom Danley was far from pleased.

“We’re still not playing well,” he said. “They like to run, and we knew if we could get back well on the break we would do well. I’d say we did that only about 40% of the time.”

Danley credited an easy draw with the team’s early success.

“We’re still not tested. Let’s not kid ourselves,” he said. “The next three games are the test. We have to take them one at a time.”