Murphy Will Try to Apply Brakes to El Camino

Maybe the Murphy High School boys’ basketball team will have more success than Oceanside at slowing down the El Camino fast break.

In the San Diego Section 2-A finals Saturday, Oceanside, with its deliberate offense, had little luck trying to slow the Wildcats. El Camino (25-3) ran its fast break to perfection in the second half and turned a 24-19 halftime lead into a 61-35 victory. El Camino plays the Nobles (20-7) in the Division II Southern California regional quarterfinals tonight at 7:30 at Cal State Dominguez Hills in Compton.

Murphy is a slow-down team, but its tactics succeeded in winning its first Southern Section 2-A championship over Charter Oak, 47-29. Though the Nobles shot poorly, they were able to control the tempo and keep Charter Oak from taking many shots.

The Nobles, the Santa Fe League champions, made only 15 of 50 (30%) field goals against Charter Oak. The El Camino defense held Oceanside to only 29.6% shooting Saturday night.

The Wildcats are led by forwards Steve Heard, the Avocado League Player of the Year, and Ken Crawford. Crawford had 20 points and Heard 15 against the Pirates.

Lance Malveaux has been Murphy’s best player since he returned to action Feb. 1. Malveaux, who had been academically ineligible, had 15 points and 15 rebounds Saturday.