SAN DIEGO SECTION BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP : 3-A Boys : Morse Takes Control in Final, 59-51 : Monte Vista Falls Victim to Erratic Play, Tough Defense

Scott Winne was hitting 15-footers from one baseline, Wayne Hallman was hitting from the other and James Gotell was hitting from the top of the key.

The Monte Vista High School boys’ basketball team was adjusting well to Morse’s defense in the fourth quarter.

But the adjustment came too late and in too irregular of bursts as Morse defeated Monte Vista, 59-51, in the San Diego Section 3-A final Saturday night in the Sports Arena in front of 6,837.

Morse (24-2) advances to the Southern California regional Tuesday in San Diego State’s Peterson Gym. Morse’s opponent will be determined at today’s Southern Section meeting at Cerritos.

Monte Vista finishes its season at 19-6.

As expected, Morse’s defense and team speed were too much for Monte Vista Saturday.

“That (defense) is what got us to this point,” Morse Coach Ron Davis said. “That’s what won the game for us.”

Morse guard Rey Parson, who had nine steals, said: “We knew they weren’t going to come straight at us; they were going to make us play defense.”

At times, Monte Vista was able to handle Morse’s defense, staying close enough to make the game interesting.

In the second quarter, Monte Vista had a five-point scoring spurt to come within six points at 20-14.

But Monte Vista’s erratic play in the first and third quarters allowed Morse to remain in control.

“Our play in the first period didn’t bother me as much as the third,” Monte Vista Coach Zach Peck said. “In the first period, we still had three periods to come back.”

In the first quarter, Morse controlled the tempo with its smothering defense. Monte Vista attempted to keep up with the game’s fast tempo, but that only resulted in off-balanced shooting, sloppy passing and a 16-6 deficit.

Parson, who had four steals in the first half, left the game with three fouls with 5:49 remaining in the half. Morse’s tempo slowed drastically, and Monte Vista outscored Morse, 22-12 to trail by one at halftime, 29-28.

Peck said his strategy was to take his chances with Morse’s free-throw shooting. As the Monarchs were fouling in the first half, Morse hit only 7 of 14 from the line. Monte Vista didn’t do any better, hitting 8 of 16.

In the second half, with Parson returning to the game, Morse regained control. The Tigers opened the third quarter with nine unanswered points--three baskets off three successive steals--to increase their lead to 38-28.

Meanwhile, Monte Vista missed four successive shots directly under its basket early in the third quarter.

Morse’s Willie Russell had a game-high 16 points, and Guy Henry added 12. Gotell finished with 13 for Monte Vista, Winne had 12 and Hallman 10.