SOUTHERN SECTION BASKETBALL PLAYOFFS : 4-A Roundup : Santa Monica Has Numbers for Big Win : It Doesn’t Add Up for Santa Ana in Loss

When Santa Ana High School trailed Santa Monica by 14 after one quarter, Greg Coombs, Saint coach, was not worried. Santa Ana had been down that far many a time before and rallied to win.

By the third quarter, if not sooner, he was past worry: There was no hope.

Before the score, the preliminaries.

Santa Monica High School made 10 of 11 shots in the first quarter, shooting 71% (17 of 24) in the first half and 67% for the game.

Santa Monica made 12 of 12 first-half free throws.

Santa Monica had an eight-point possession and a five-point possession.

Santa Ana was called for five technical fouls in the second quarter, including one that resulted in Santa Ana star Bobby Joyce being ejected with 1:45 remaining in the first half.

Santa Ana (21-7) once trailed by 39.

The final: Santa Monica 90, Santa Ana 57.

Santa Monica (15-9), a team that suffered a midseason six-game losing streak, easily defeated the Century League champion Saints Tuesday night in front of 350 at Saddleback High School.

Where to begin?

The Vikings gained a 24-10 lead after the first quarter, missing only one shot. Then with the Vikings leading, 28-14, Santa Ana’s Jeff Stewart was called for a technical after he was called for a foul. Santa Monica’s William Benjamin made three free throws, then hit a jumper on the awarded possession: 35-14.

Less than a minute later, Santa Ana’s Darrell Bailey was called for a technical for slapping the backboard as he tried to stop a Santa Monica fast break, and Benjamin made another free throw.

With 1:45 to play in the half, Santa Monica’s 6-foot 6-inch freshman Jacoby Day made a turnaround jumper. But Stewart apparently caught the ball as it fell through the net, and in throwing it to a teammate out of bounds, hit a Santa Monica player in the head.

Technical No. 3.

According to Coombs, Joyce then accidentally backed into the official who made the call.

Technical No. 4, and Joyce was ejected.

Coombs called a timeout to argue.

Technical No. 5.

Benjamin, who finished with 20 points, made all four technical free throws, and then Keith Neal scored on the possession, giving Santa Monica a 46-18 lead.

By halftime, it was 50-22.

“They played good, and they have a great defense,” Coombs said. “But the refs didn’t help us. But they might have beaten us anyway.”

Coombs on the the exchange that resulted in Joyce’s ejection:

“According to Bobby, and I believe him, as he turned (he and the official) happened to bump into each other. (The official) should have stopped to see if it was intentional and talked to the other official, but he didn’t and once he (called the technical) he couldn’t go back on it.”

But Coombs said that even with Joyce it would have been difficult to beat Santa Monica.

“That’s the best shooting display I’ve seen in a few years,” Coombs said.

Said Santa Monica Coach Cliff Hunter, who said his team had never played better: “We could have put in our manager tonight. Even I might have made a couple.”

Danny Price scored 20 for Santa Monica, and Neal added 12. Stewart led Santa Ana with 14 and Bailey added 13.

Fontana 83, Capistrano Valley 68--For the first time under Mark Thornton, six-year coach, the Cougars have not advanced to the Southern Section quarterfinals.

Capistrano Valley fell to a Fontana team that combined precision shooting with a strong inside defense. Fontana (24-3), the Citrus Belt League champion, pulled away in the final quarter at Redlands High School.

Capistrano Valley, the South Coast League champion, finished 18-9, the most losses in Thornton’s tenure.

His teams had reached the semifinals four of the past five years.

Fontana was led by 6-10 senior center Sean Rooks, who will attend the University of Arizona. Rooks scored a team-high 26 points, had 13 rebounds and blocked 4 shots.

Capistrano Valley closed the lead to 59-51 with 6:25 remaining before Fontana started looking inside to Rooks. He hit three straight baskets, and forward Mike Flynn added a layup when the zone collapsed on Rooks. Fontana’s 8-0 run gave the Steelers a 67-51 lead with 4:25 left. Capistrano Valley got no closer than 10 after that.

Fontana made 34 of 50 from the field; the Cougars made 25 of 67.