PREP BASKETBALL PLAYOFFS : 2-A Semifinals : Keefe, as Usual, Carries Woodbridge

San Bernardino High School had heard the stories. Now it was time for the Cardinals to meet the legend.

And with just a few minutes gone in the semifinal game between Woodbridge and San Bernardino, Wednesday at Villa Park, Adam Keefe introduced himself. In a big way.

The Woodbridge center had already given his team a 4-0 lead, before he stole the ball out of San Bernardino’s hands, dribbled it down court, turned his body and slammed the ball in for a reverse dunk and a 6-0 Woodbridge lead.

So that was how it was going to be.

Keefe went on to score 34 points and get 23 rebounds to lead Woodbridge to a 59-50 victory. Goodby, San Bernardino. Hello, Sports Arena.

The defending 2-A champion Warriors (22-5) will make their second appearance in the championship game, a rematch with top-seeded, undefeated Banning Saturday at 9:45 a.m. at the Los Angeles Sports Arena.

The loss was only the second of the year for second-seeded San Bernardino, snapping a 21-game winning streak. The Cardinals, averaging 84.4 points all season, had only 17 points at halftime. And didn’t look capable of producing 67.4 points in the second half.

“I was feeling real good when I saw that halftime score,” said Woodbridge Coach Bill Shannon. “Their coach (Scott Kay) came up to me at halftime and said, ‘Great defense.’ ”

Woodbridge’s aggressive defense kept a team that had been well-balanced all season, decidedly off-balance. The Cardinals wanted to run, but when they did, Woodbridge ran with them, slapping the ball all the way and making San Bernardino, which was 35% from the field, force its shots.

“I don’t think they’d faced a team that played defense like (Woodbridge),” Keefe said.

Four San Bernardino players had averaged in double figures this season, but just one--forward Deshaun Anderson--hit that mark Wednesday, scoring 17 points.

By contrast, Woodbridge played the game it had played all season. A give-the-ball-to-Keefe kind of game.

Keefe scored Woodbridge’s first 12 points and looked as if he might do all the scoring before forward Chris Deibert connected with 38 seconds left in the first quarter.

But in the second quarter, San Bernardino started to play its game, running and pressing. The pressure on Woodbridge’s guards kept the ball out of the hands of Keefe, who scored just one point in the period. The Cardinals scored six consecutive points off turnovers to narrow the Woodbridge lead to three points, 20-17.

But that was the closest San Bernardino got. Woodbridge put the game away late in the third quarter and the beginning of the fourth, when Keefe made four straight baskets and guard Robb Lee hit his only basket of the night--a three-pointer--to give the Warriors a 40-26 lead.

Though it seemed like it at times, it wasn’t just a one-man show. Deibert contributed 12 points and 4 steals, leading the Woodbridge defensive effort. Junior P.A. Emerson, coming off the bench, also helped defensively and drew some inside pressure off Keefe.

But it was Keefe’s show.

Before the game, Keefe had said his only goal this season was to get to the semifinal match, but added: “That doesn’t mean I’m not going to do everything in my power to help us get to the final.”

And look where Woodbridge is.