1-A Boys : Markowitz Drives Army-Navy Past Calipatria With 21 Points

Carlsbad Army and Navy Academy plays a control offense that hinges on getting the ball inside to Nick Markowitz. It was not really successful in executing this offense until the fourth period Saturday, but that was enough to beat Calipatria, 48-42, for the San Diego Section 1-A boys basketball championship at the Sports Arena.

Markowitz, a 6-4 forward, scored 9 of his game-high 21 points in that fourth period as Army-Navy shook loose a tight game.

This game was a struggle of contrasting styles because Calipatria, champion of the Imperial Valley’s Mountain Desert League, was a fast-break team built around 5-8 point guard Gabriel Castro.

Army-Navy led at half, 23-22, but neither style had really established control. Markowitz, averaging 22 points a game, missed all four of his field goal attempts in the first period but finished the half with eight points. Meanwhile, Castro was scoring only six points.

In the third quarter, Calipatria finally got its running game going as forward Mario Ortiz twice drove the length of the court for layups. When Ortiz scored late in the quarter off an assist from Castro, the Hornets had their biggest lead, 34-30.

That lead dissolved quickly, however, as Markowitz got hot in the fourth quarter. He delivered the final blow with 1:25 left when he intercepted a Castro pass and raced down the court for a layup to give Army-Navy a 45-40 lead.