SOUTHERN SECTION BASKETBALL PLAYOFFS : 5-A Roundup : Rice Overshadows Ocean View Stars in Win

Doug Rice shot holes in the theory Friday night that Ocean View High School is nothing more than a two-man basketball team.

Rice, a 160-pound guard who looks even thinner standing next to the Seahawks’ front-court tandem of Ricky Butler and Desi Hazely, scored 10 of his career-high 18 points in the fourth quarter as Ocean View beat Bishop Amat, 76-65, in a first-round 5-A Southern Section playoff game at Ocean View.

Bishop Amat, which never led and trailed by as many as 12 points, pulled to 60-55 with less than four minutes remaining when Rice scored on a fast break. Moments later, he assisted on a Hazely slam dunk and added four free throws as the Seahawks advanced to the quarterfinals.

Butler, Ocean View’s powerful 6-6, 225-pound center, scored 23 points and grabbed 17 rebounds while Hazely, a 6-5, 215-pound forward, had 16 points and seven rebounds for the Seahawks (18-6).

It was the seventh victory in the last eight outings for Ocean View, which has recovered from a 1-3 start in the Sunset League.

Ocean View, which relies predominately on its inside game, created a lot of problems for Bishop Amat with a full-court press in the first half.