SOUTHERN SECTION BASKETBALL PLAYOFFS : Swanwick’s Supporting Cast Takes Center Stage for Trabuco Hills

The scrambling Mustangs of Trabuco Hills High School were at their frenetic best Saturday afternoon at the Los Angeles Sports Arena.

Rick Swanwick, a 6-foot-10 center, is the Mustangs’ backbone and their leading scorer with a 20.7-point average, but the life blood of the team is a group of swift guards.

They seem to burst into a play at just the right time for Trabuco Hills, running and jumping and wrecking havoc--diving on loose balls and slapping away passes--wherever they go.

Luis Arenado, Randy Kriech, Tim Manning and Chad Poulos appear to be interchangeable parts, working their sleight of hand in the Trabuco Hills’ lineup.

The four are all about the same height (6-1, give or take an inch or two). All have a dead-eye outside shot. All handle the ball with flair and seldom turn it over. And all play stifling defense, often against taller and stronger players.

Saturday, Kriech stepped up and assumed the spotlight for the foursome. A 6-foot, rail-thin junior, Kriech had a game-high 19 points to lead Trabuco Hills to a 59-55 victory over Corona del Mar in the Southern Section 3-A championship game.

His touch was nearly perfect and his defense, though less noticeable, was a key in helping Trabuco Hills get past Corona del Mar for its first Southern Section basketball title.

Kriech missed just one of six shots from the field and that was a three-pointer. He was six of six from the free throw line and grabbed two rebounds and had two steals.

They were important numbers, particularly since Swanwick had a rough game offensively.

Swanwick scored just nine points and was a factor for only a few brief moments early in the third quarter.

Kriech got his points despite having Matt Herrington, Corona del Mar’s 6-3 forward, guarding him most of the game.

“I felt I was a lot quicker than him,” said Kriech, who has grown accustomed to racing past taller, but slower defenders this season.

“I told our players the key was how we handled their perimeter players,” Corona del Mar Coach Paul Orris said. “They were the key that beat us.”

What hurt Corona del Mar most was Kriech’s long-range shooting.

He made three three-pointers, the last giving Trabuco Hills a 50-42 lead with 5:45 left to play. Kriech then made both ends of a one-and-one opportunity with 2:01 left that kept the Mustangs in command--it was 55-48 at that point--down the stretch.

Earlier, he made a three-pointer that gave Trabuco Hills a 45-40 lead at the end of the third quarter.

He didn’t limit himself to the outside, though, scoring on several fast breaks in the first half.

Kriech’s layin on a pass from Arenado on the break gave Trabuco Hills its largest lead of the game, 25-14, midway through the second quarter.

“The four of us make it so they can’t concentrate on one player,” Kriech said. “Rick (Swanwick) opens up a lot of things for us.”