Simi Valley Buries Memories, Nogales With 110-61 Victory

Don MacLean had an eerie feeling as he and the rest of Simi Valley High’s basketball team strode into Rowland High’s gym Friday night.

The Pioneers were there to play Nogales in a Southern Section 4-A Division quarterfinal game, but MacLean flashed back to last year’s game of the same round--a game Simi Valley lost in overtime to Santa Monica at Santa Monica City College.

“It was weighing on my mind,” MacLean said moments after Simi Valley put the finishing touches on a 110-61 masterpiece victory over Nogales. “I was thinking about it. This gym looks kind of like Santa Monica’s, maybe a little bigger.”

The memory, however, slipped away as quickly as the Pioneers stepped onto the floor.

MacLean, the Pioneers’ All-American center and last season’s 4-A player of the year, scored 34 points and manhandled a smaller Nogales lineup for 13 rebounds. The Pioneers outrebounded the Nobles, 48-23, and Nogales had only two defensive rebounds in the second half.

Forward Shawn DeLaittre added 28 points to the Pioneers’ rout and guard Butch Hawking had 14.

MacLean and DeLaittre scored 12 of Simi Valley’s first 18 points and Hawking tossed in two three-point baskets--all in the first four minutes.

The Pioneers romped to an 18-2 lead in that span, all before the Nobles could say, “Boo,” as in Boo Moore, Nogales’ second-leading scorer, who missed his first two shots. Moore finally hit a layup to make the score 18-4 and end a 12-0 run by the Pioneers.

The Nobles’ house was demolished to the tune of a 29-13 deficit after a quarter, and most in the crowd of 1,500 would have bet the mortgage on the outcome. Simi Valley had scored only 20 points in the first quarters of its first two playoff games combined.

“Since we did not play our best the first two games, we had something to prove tonight,” said DeLaittre, who also had nine rebounds--eight on the offensive end. “We felt really good going into tonight.

“That was a good start. It really got me up and got the team up.”

And while it was difficult to fathom Simi Valley being any further ahead, the opposite was true of Nogales (22-7). The Nobles made two field goals in the first four minutes, were 10 for 30 in the first half and finished 23 for 68. They also turned the ball over 20 times, and most led to points for Simi Valley.

“They were hot,” Nogales Coach Mike Southworth said. “I think they were really focused, our kids were a step behind, and it snowballed.

“It’s the best team we’ve played and the best team I’ve seen. They’re ready.”

By that, he meant the Pioneers are ready for the 4-A title that has eluded them for two years. Simi Valley (25-3), however, will wait before seconding the opinion.

“We can’t get overconfident and get cocky,” MacLean said. “We have to ride this the right way.”

On the way to their 16th consecutive victory, the Pioneers made 40 of 78 field-goal attempts. Their 65 second-half points set a school record for most in a half.

MacLean’s six-foot jump shot in the first quarter gave him four points, pushing him past Joe Hillman into sixth place on the Southern Section career scoring list. Hillman played at Hoover and now plays for Indiana.

MacLean’s 13 rebounds also moved him into 10th place for career rebounds in the Southern Section. He joins Wayne Carlander and Tom Lewis as the only players on both top 10 lists.

Despite all the scoring, or, rather because of the scoring, Simi Valley Coach Bob Hawking praised his team’s defense.

“We’ve been waiting for the defensive effort and we certainly got it tonight,” he said. “When we play defense hard a lot of good things happen.”

Corey Rogers led the Nobles with 17 points and Moore added 13.

Simi Valley plays Santa Ana--which defeated Buena, 74-70, Friday night--in the semifinals Tuesday.