STATE BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT : Saugus Defeats Oceanside, 47-39

Even a football team couldn’t stop the storybook saga of Saugus High School’s sojourn through the playoffs, although Oceanside gave it a nice try.

The Saugus football team was 0-10 last fall. And the basketball team had been unbeatable during six Southern Section 3-A playoff victories, performing as if four-leaf clovers were stuck in the players’ socks.

So Oceanside brought along Junior Seau--a 6-foot 5-inch forward better known for his play at linebacker that earned him a scholarship to USC--and two other starters from the football team.

But Saugus continued to defy the odds and defeated the Pirates, 47-39, Wednesday night at College of the Canyons in the semifinals of the Southern California Regional Division II playoffs.

“We knew they’d be physical and try to intimidate us,” Saugus forward Rusty Morse said, “but we just came out and played our game.”

Added Saugus Coach John Clark: “Sure, Oceanside is a tough bunch. But our best quality is our toughness--our mental toughness.”

Seau muscled his way to 22 points--more than half of the Pirates’ total--but he played most of the fourth quarter with four fouls and scored only two points in that period.

For the first three quarters, the score seesawed, with Saugus taking three-point leads, only to give them back. Oceanside led after each of the first three periods.

The Centurions trailed, 33-31, going into the fourth but took the lead, 37-35, on a steal and layup by guard Greg Weber with 5:30 left.

Weber became Saugus’ key man in the last three minutes, making 6 of 7 free throws. Saugus (23-9) made 20 of 26 free throws, and Oceanside (21-8) made only 1 of 7.

“We didn’t shoot well tonight from the outside, and it came down to free throws,” Weber said. “I don’t mind being in that situation. I’ll take the ball.”

And why not?

After finishing third in the Golden League and losing a two-point game to rival Canyon in the last game of the regular season, this group has become the New Centurions, becoming the first wild-card team above the Small Schools Division in Southern Section history to win a CIF title.

With the Oceanside zone defense shutting off Morse inside, Saugus was forced to launch long-range shots. Most missed--the Centurions made only 13 of 38 shots.

“If we’d have made our shots we’d have blown it open,” Morse said.

Oceanside, co-champion of the Avocado League and 2-A champion of the San Diego Section, shot poorly, too, making 19 of 46 field-goal attempts. The Pirates did not score in the last four minutes of the game.

Without Seau, the Pirates were punchless. Guard Kevin Hardyway had seven points, Sai Niu had four and no one else had more than two.

Weber led Saugus with 11 points. Morse, the team’s leading scorer with an 18.3 average, had only six points but got 11 rebounds.

“They were packing that zone in tight,” Morse said. “Every time the ball was lobbed in, it was stolen. There wasn’t much I could do tonight.”

There wasn’t much Seau couldn’t do, except win, and after the game he was sporting a broad smile, hand-slapping Oceanside fans who had driven 150 miles to root him on. Clearly, he had taken this team as far as he could.

“We had a great season,” Seau said. “This can’t spoil it.”

Clark has taken his team to an inspirational movie before every playoff game. “The Natural” was featured before this one, and several in the “Rocky” series, “Hoosiers” and “Victory” were seen earlier. Clark said he is running out of movies.

“Got any suggestions?” he asked.

Saugus will make its second appearance in the Sports Arena in the final of the Southern Regional on Saturday.

“I’m going to ask for my own parking space,” Clark quipped.

Valley Christian 82, Lo Jolla 48--Seniors Donna Pollema and Kari Parriott scored a total of 64 points Wednesday night as Valley Christian won an opening round-game.

Parriott, a 6-3 center headed for Oregon State, scored 37 points and Pollema, a 6-2 senior forward, had 27. Parriott, the Southern Section’s second-ranked scorer, also grabbed 22 rebounds, blocked 4 shots and had 5 assists.

The win at Cerritos High was the 24th consecutive for Valley Christian (26-2), which entered the tournament as the Southern Section’s 1-A champion.

La Jolla, the 2-A champion from the San Diego Section, finished 18-6.

DIVISION III

Woodlake 61, Calvin Christian 31--Calvin Christian’s Mary Andringa scored a game-high 19 points and had 18 rebounds, but her team committed 32 turnovers and was outrebounded, 45-30, in a girls’ Division III Southern Regional semifinal playoff game played at Woodlake in Visalia.

Woodlake (22-5), vying for a fourth appearance in the state Division III championship, dominated the first half, taking a 30-12 lead.

“We were hardly playing basketball until the middle of the third quarter,” said Frank Zuidema, coach of Calvin Christian (20-5). “They have a lot of experience and a lot of depth and they’re very quick.”

Kristy Melikian had 12 points and Julie Eastburn had 10 to lead Woodlake. Shelly Van Engen, with eight points, and Betsy Wilgenburg, with four, were the only Calvin players besides Andringa to score.

BOYS’ DIVISION III

Whitney 68, Calipatria 61--James Justice scored 29 points to lead Whitney past Calipatria in the Division III Southern Regional semifinal playoff game at Central High in El Centro.

The teams played to a 14-14 tie after the first quarter, then Whitney (25-2) took command, outscoring Calipatria, 20-8, in the second quarter for a 34-22 halftime advantage.

From there Calipatria (22-2) was forced to play catch-up but couldn’t get any closer than the final margin.

Calipatria, the San Diego Section 1-A champion, had four players score in double figures. Mario Ortiz scored 13 points, Alfonso Romero and Noel Bravo had 12 each and Sean Taylor added 10. Alex Ahn scored 15 points for Whitney and Chris Barnes added 12.