TODAY’S BOYS PLAYOFFS : Simi Valley Shrugs Off the Heat and Santa Ana to Advance in the 4-A

Think of an orange, cool and refreshing.

Now, for an image of the Orange High gym, think of the opposite. Packed with fans and bands, it is so sweltering and noisy as to wrack the calmest of nerves.

With its metal ceiling, the gym is like an oversized Quonset hut.

The Simi Valley High basketball team overcame the suffocating surroundings and defeated Santa Ana, 63-53, Tuesday night in the second round of the Southern Section 4-A playoffs.

The Pioneers, who are led by sophomores Don MacLean and Shawn DeLaittre, could have been excused for folding under such adverse conditions. But they didn’t for a variety of reasons.

Santa Ana, of all things, was younger than Simi Valley. The Saints had three sophomores in their starting lineup and only one senior, forward Eric Turner, made a significant contribution. Late in the game, the Santa Ana kiddie corp revealed its youth in the form of poor passes and inopportune fouls. And the passes the Saints didn’t make hurt the worst.

“Our guards got caught up in the excitement and made a few bad shots late in the game,” Santa Ana Coach Greg Coombs said. “And their guard, Hankins, was the big difference. He handled the pressure real well. I don’t think he turned the ball over once.”

Turner agreed that the guards on his team may have abandoned passing to the big men inside at the end.

“We should have kept with what we were doing well,” he said.

Although MacLean saved his best play for the fourth quarter and DeLaittre was solid--despite going the final quarter with a bloody nose--the coolest head was indeed Mike Hankins, the Pioneer elder statesman.

A senior and the only returning starter, Hankins made five free throws in the fourth quarter and had four steals in the first half. He finished with 14 points, second only to MacLean’s 18 for Simi Valley.

MacLean, at 6-8 the tallest player on the floor, appeared tentative at first but had eight points and six of his nine rebounds in the fourth quarter. His strong finish came despite having four personal fouls the last 3:59 of the game.

“Coach Hawking told me that if I got rebounding position there was no way I would foul out,” MacLean said. “They were key rebounds because most of their points were coming on second shots.”

When MacLean was called for his fourth foul, Simi Valley led only, 49-45. He remained aggressive, however, and made two straight baskets, the second on a dribble-drive through the lane, to give the Pioneers an eight-point lead.

After Turner scored off of an offensive rebound, Simi Valley increased its lead to 57-49 with 1:26 left when Tippy Wilcox made a free throw and MacLean scored when he grabbed an offensive rebound and banked in a shot.

Said Hawking: “We controlled the boards at the end. They had a tough, inside attack, but Don MacLean was there when we needed him. We overcame a lot of adversity tonight. There was the noise and the heat. I give hand signals from the bench, so my instructions wouldn’t be drowned in the noise.”

Simi Valley led nearly the entire game. After falling behind, 16-12, by the end of the first period, Santa Ana came back behind the six points by Jeff Stewart to even the score at 20.

The teams traded baskets until the last minute of the half when Simi Valley reeled off five points. Hankins shoveled a pass underneath to MacLean, who scored, then Todd Johnson assisted another MacLean basket and Hankins made a free throw with six seconds left.

“The free throws might have been the difference,” Hankins said. “I missed a couple, but it all worked out in the end.”