Garden Grove League : Kennedy Rebounds to Stop Pacifica’s Winning Streak at 7

After one-sided victories against the also-rans of the Garden Grove League, it was time to get an accurate gauge on Pacifica High School Wednesday when the Mariners met Kennedy, the defending Southern Section 3-A division champion.

Pacifica hasn’t qualified for the playoffs since 1971, but after sweeping to 7 consecutive victories, the Mariners appeared to be a serious contender for the league title. This would be a real test.

But while the Mariners showed they can play with the league’s best, they also showed a lack of consistency in a 62-55 loss that dropped them out of a first-place tie with La Quinta in the 8-team league.

Pacifica (10-4, 5-1) made the game interesting by making 4 3-point shots in the final quarter, but it wasn’t enough to offset Kennedy’s inside strength and the depth. Kennedy (11-7, 4-2) built a 46-34 lead going into the final quarter and kept its composure down the stretch, erasing the sour memory of a 37-35 loss to Garden Grove last week.

“We’ve been involved in the two biggest upsets of the season,” said John Mayberry, Kennedy coach. “We beat the county’s No. 1 team (Saddleback) and lost to Garden Grove. We came back to the gym after the Garden Grove loss and had a long talk.

“The team wasn’t playing with an intensity, so we spent 3 hours in practice on Saturday.”

Kennedy was also playing without forward Greg Hansell, who missed the Garden Grove game on a football recruiting trip to the Air Force Academy.

Hansell made his presence felt against Pacifica, scoring 10 points, grabbing 7 rebounds and blocking 4 shots. Hansell’s intense play on both ends of the court was contagious, with most of his teammates getting into the act.

“The effort was there tonight,” Mayberry said.

Meanwhile, Pacifica, starting four juniors, suffered from big-game jitters. The Mariners committed 18 turnovers and made only 21 of 58 shots. Dustin Bonham, averaging 20.1 points per game, struggled through 3 quarters before snapping out of a shooting slump with 11 points in the final quarter.

“There’s no question we can play with them, but you have to put 4 quarters together to beat a team like Kennedy,” said Rhett Heckel, Pacifica coach. “We’re growing, and this was a good experience to play in a big-game atmosphere.”

Rancho Alamitos 84, Bolsa Grande 59--Gary Lira scored 19 points and Chris Singletary 14 to lead host Rancho Alamitos (6-6, 4-2). Vinh Bui scored 26 points for Bolsa Grande (1-12, 0-6).

La Quinta 74, Garden Grove 28--Lorden Chang scored 13 points, Scott Linck had 11, and James Johnson and Tuan Ho added 10 each to lead La Quinta (11-4, 6-0). Scott Campbell, averaging 33.4 points, was held to 8 points, his lowest output of the season.