Playoff Roundup : Point Loma Goes Inside, Griffin Pours In 30 to Pace a 78-61 Victory

The thing about Friday night’s San Diego Section Division II playoff game between Point Loma and Serra high schools was that--and this point should be made perfectly clear--Point Loma was going to get the ball inside to center Jimmy Griffin.

The host Pointers were about as subtle in doing this as a Sam Kinison monologue. Point Loma Coach David Aros might as well have grabbed the public address microphone before the game and shrieked, “Attention, we are going inside to Jimmy Griffin. He’s the guy who is wearing No. 31, playing center for us, and is the skinniest excuse for 6-foot-7 you ever saw. Everybody clear on this?”

Griffin took Point Loma’s first six shots and finished with 30 points as the Pointers, in the third meeting with their City Eastern League opponent this year, broke open a close game in the fourth quarter to win, 78-61.

The other thing is, Griffin nearly didn’t play. He was ineligible for Wednesday’s 58-48 victory over Carlsbad because he had to make up some work in his government class.

“The grades were posted last week, and a teacher gave him a grade when he hadn’t completed his work,” Aros said. “He made up some work this week, and I found out (Thursday) that he was eligible.”

Said Griffin: “I found out (Friday) that I could play. I had to make a test up last week.”

Griffin scored 10 of Point Loma’s 14 first-quarter points. By about his third shot of the game, it was obvious the Pointers were looking inside.

Still, Serra, playing a man-to-man, full-court press, couldn’t stop him. Maurice Wade, 6-foot-5, first drew the assignment of guarding Griffin. Keith Ladue, 6-foot-3, later spelled Wade. By the fourth quarter, Ladue had fouled out (with 2:21 left) and Wade had four fouls. This didn’t sit well with Serra Coach Tom Williams, who drew a technical foul with his team trailing by eight, 66-58, in the fourth quarter.

“I think our kids just didn’t get a fair shake,” Williams said. “They were covered with blood by the end of the game. Point Loma played a good game, but we put our hands on them and it was a foul, and they would shove off of us and it was nothing.”

Serra was called for 22 fouls and Point Loma was whistled for 11.

At the end of three quarters, Serra led, 51-48, but Point Loma went on a 10-0 run to start the fourth quarter and never stopped.

Desi Dixon led Serra with 18 points.