STATE BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT : Division III Boys : Crossroads Romps to 59-42 Win

The city slickers did another number on the country folk Wednesday night as Santa Monica Crossroads High School routed Riverdale, 59-42, in a Division III Southern Regional semifinal game at Santa Monica High School.

The game wasn’t as close as the score would indicate, nor was it a game either team could be proud of. One thing was painfully clear, though--Riverdale may be in the same division as the Roadrunners, but the Cowboys certainly aren’t in their class.

“There wasn’t a lot of competition out there for us,” Crossroads Coach David Benezra said of what he admitted was an ugly win. “(We) probably should have had 110 (points) for the game.”

Riverdale (20-7), which is about 25 miles south of Fresno, had neither the height nor the speed nor the quickness to keep up with Crossroads, whose biggest problem was boredom.

“We didn’t match up real well with ‘em. I don’t know if it showed,” Riverdale Coach Greg Ruland said facetiously.

Crossroads (24-5) led all the way, starting the game with a 10-2 run and going from there. Riverdale got as close as 19-15 in the second quarter, but the Roadrunners went on a 14-2 run to make it 33-17 at halftime.

In the second half, the Roadrunners toyed with the Cowboys, seemingly debating whether to put them away. They finally did seal the game with a 14-4 run that made it 57-33 with three minutes remaining. Riverdale made some baskets against Crossroads’ reserves to make the final score somewhat respectable.

Center David Wolfe led Crossroads with 25 points. The Roadrunners will play Cerritos Whitney Saturday at the Sports Arena in the Southern Regional final.