Saugus Goes Cold Early and Never Recovers in Final

Three weeks after it was supposed to have concluded, Saugus High School’s basketball season came to its end Saturday, as Irvine Woodbridge defeated the Centurions, 65-53, in the Division II Southern Regional final at the Sports Arena.

Saugus, the wild-card team from the Golden League which was supposed to be happy just to be in the playoffs, ended up within a game of the State final after winning the Southern Section 3-A title. And although the Centurions came a lot farther than expected, the way they lost left them feeling what might have been.

The Centurions, with no one over 6-4, were keying on the Warriors’ 6-8 center, Adam Keefe. That part of their game was a success, as they limited Keefe to 15 points.

But they concentrated too much on Keefe, freeing up 6-7 forward Vince Bryan, who scored 20 points, and guard Dave Townsend, who scored 16 points.

But what killed the Centurions was their offensive ineptitude, including a woeful second quarter where they scored only four points. They made only 7 of 28 shots in the half.

“In the first half, I thought we played pretty good defense,” Saugus Coach John Clark said. “But we played horribly on offense.”

After the first quarter, Saugus trailed only 13-10, and with a few breaks could have even been ahead. The second quarter started pretty much the same, with a basket by Keefe making it 15-10, but Saugus came back with a bank shot by Jeff Dorst to make it 15-12 with 6:47 to go until halftime.

But Saugus scored only just one more basket before intermission. The Centurions missed from everywhere--outside and inside. Saugus didn’t get any second attempts, either, as Keefe and Bryan dominated the boards.

Woodbridge, specifically Townsend and Bryan, took advantage of the drought to outscore Saugus, 17-4.

Townsend sank three long-range shots, plus a free-throw to help make it 24-12. After a lay-in by Saugus’ Rusty Morse made it 24-14, Bryan closed out the half with a 15-footer, a fast break lay-in and a follow shot off a Townsend miss to make it 30-14 at intermission.

Clark was also upset with the officiating in the first half, a displeasure he voiced to the officials several times.

“(In the) first half, I wasn’t real pleased with it (officiating),” Clark said. “They just beat us to death on the boards, and the officials said ‘no call.’

“Maybe the style of play at this level is different. I can deal with that, just tell me.”

Actually, Saugus was whistled for only one more foul (four to three) than Woodbridge in the first half.

“They only called three fouls on Woodbridge in the first half,” Jackson Clark, the coach’s son, said. “(But) it wasn’t that they called ‘em for one team. They just let us play.”

In the second half, two lay-ins made by Keefe gave Woodbridge its greatest lead, 34-16, before Saugus began a mini-comeback. The Centurion press started to click, resulting in a 10-2 run that made it 36-26.

The Warriors regrouped, as Bryan had a pair of baskets to increase the lead to 45-28 at the end of the third quarter. Saugus could get no closer than eight points after that.

Woodbridge (27-5) advances to the State Division II final in Oakland, to play De Anza High of Richmond. Saugus (23-10) was led by Morse with 12 points.