SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA REGIONAL BASKETBALL PLAYOFFS : Division I : The Other Guy Lifts Simi Valley Past Santana

One of the by-products of a state basketball tournament is unfamiliarity with one’s opponent.

Most pregame descriptions go something like this:

Coach No. 1: “Well, they’ve got a big guy who can rebound, and a little guy who can shoot.”

Coach No. 2: “Hmm, they’ve got a big feller who can rebound, and a little feller who can shoot.”

Now the postgame description, moments after Simi Valley High defeated Santana, 92-67, in the first round of the Southern California Division I Regional Tuesday at Simi Valley.

“I honestly thought we stopped their All-American,” Santana point guard Tim Barry said. “I was really impressed with that little guy, No. 11. I’ve never played against a guy who shot that well in my whole life.”

No. 11, Simi Valley’s Butch Hawking, scored a team-high 20 points--six on three-pointers. It was the first time Hawking had led the Pioneers in scoring this season, primarily because of their All-American, 6-foot 10-inch Don MacLean, and that other guy, 6-7 Shawn DeLaittre.

DeLaittre finished with 18 points and 14 rebounds. MacLean had 19 points, nearly 13 below his season’s average. It was in part because of foul trouble and a sore left ankle. He picked up his fourth foul with 4:18 left in the game and Simi Valley holding a precarious 70-61 lead.

But the Pioneers were in the midst of an 18-2 run that buried the Grossmont League champions.

Darren Aurand had six points for Simi Valley in the spurt, and Santana turned the ball over eight times in the final four minutes.

Santana, upbeat behind center Stu Back’s 24 points and Barry’s 13 to that point, had finally hit a sour note after trailing by only five at halftime and eight after three quarters.

Simi Valley (28-3) plays Manual Arts Thursday at Simi Valley in the second round. Manual Arts defeated Bishop Amat, 94-91, in its first-round game.

The Sultans were three days removed from their 67-62 victory over Morse in the San Diego Section title game Friday and had won 12 in a row. Likewise, Simi Valley, winner of 19 in a row, defeated Capistrano Valley, 70-64, in Saturday’s 4-A Division championship.

“They don’t know us, and we don’t know them,” Santana Coach John Bobof said. “It’s asking a lot of a high school kid to go out of your section and play in someone else’s gym. Our best game we left Friday at the Sports Arena. Hell, the NBA can’t play on the road.”

While Hawking, MacLean and DeLaittre filled the basket for Simi Valley, Aurand filled the defensive void, clinging to Santana’s Barry, the Grossmont League’s player of the year.