SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA REGIONAL BASKETBALL FINALS : Bishop’s Is Just Run Down, 56-47

Coach Ren Marquette could not be upset, even though his Bishop’s School team had played poorly and lost to Calipatria for the second time in a week. This time, it was in the Southern California Regional Division V boys’ basketball final, 56-47, Saturday at Cerritos College.

Marquette shook his head in disbelief. But it was not because his team, which averages 6-feet 2-inches, had lost to a team with only one player over 6 feet, or that Calipatria (24-5) had outrebounded Bishop’s (24-2) in the first half.

Marquette said he couldn’t believe his team was still standing after the game.

“We’re exhausted,” Marquette said. “We’ve traveled 1,500 miles this week. We’ve spent 24 hours riding buses since Monday. I can’t believe we even made it here.”

Marquette’s feeling seemed justified, considering that Bishop’s played four games in a week, beginning last Saturday with a 52-51 loss to Calipatria in overtime in the San Diego Section final. The team traveled to Fresno Tuesday for a first-round game and then to Glendale for a semifinal Thursday. And in the end, Marquette said, all those miles made a bigger difference than a few inches of height advantage.

Calipatria’s players are used to traveling since they play in the San Diego Section and their school is located four hours east of San Diego. But they got some relief before Saturday’s game.

As the top-seeded team, Calipatria (23-5) advanced automatically to the second round and then played that game at home. The team had to drive five hours to Cerritos College but had left Friday afternoon. Calipatria’s players slept in at their hotel while Bishop’s got up early to get on the bus again.

Calipatria Coach Wallace Williams said that was the difference.

“Their kids looked drained,” he said. “Our kids were loose. They looked like they could play another quarter when they came off the floor.”

Williams said his goal was to exploit that fatigue and not let Bishop’s exploit his team’s lack of size.

Calipatria was especially effective at that in the first half.

The Hornets led by only three, 22-19, midway through the second quarter, but went on a 14-3 run to take a 36-22 lead at halftime.

“It was a close game, and then suddenly they are ahead by 14,” Marquette said.

Most of those points came off drives to the basket, not the three-point shots for which Calipatria is known.

“They made us work hard on defense,” Bishop’s Kamal Assaf said. “We got tired chasing them all over the place. A lot of us are sick. We haven’t slept much in the last week.”

On defense, Calipatria denied the ball to Bishop’s big men. Chris McKenna (6-6) did not score in the first half and Josh Peterson (6-4) had only five points.

“They were like a bunch of gnats all over you,” McKenna said. “They were so quick. Hornets is a fitting nickname. We missed a lot of inside shots.”

And when they missed, the Hornets were there. Calipatria had 16 rebounds to Bishop’s 13 in the first half.

Calipatria made only 1 of 23 shots from the field in the first half of the section final. But Saturday, the Hornets made 14 of 26 (58%). Bishop’s made only 35% of its shots.

Even after such a dismal first half, Bishop’s had a chance to get back in the game. Peterson made a rare three-pointer with 5:47 to play to make the score 48-41. But Calipatria’s Robert Romero, who scored 28 points on 12-of-21 shooting, scored two quick baskets to put his team ahead by 11 and the game out of reach.

Marquette said he would have been surprised if his team had gone ahead at that point.

“We didn’t have the legs to stop them,” he said. “We couldn’t jump out and be aggressive on defense like we usually are. We were just too tired.

“Hey, I can’t be upset. I don’t feel nearly as bad this time as the last time we lost to them. You can’t complain about 24-2.”