Simi Valley Humbled, 87-46, in Own Gym by Santa Clara

For all of you coaches and fans who secretly grumbled, and for those of you who went ahead and did it aloud while the basketball program at Simi Valley High smugly grew into one of the Valley’s strongest, we offer this score out of the Simi Valley gym Saturday night:

Santa Clara 87, Simi Valley 46.

That’s right. Simi Valley lost by 41 points. And, although it probably does not heal the wounds of so many 30-point victories, a Southern Section title, four consecutive Marmonte League championships and lots of hurt feelings--admit it--it goes a long way. Some of you out there are grinning.

This by no means is to say the program is slipping. But an off night is one thing. A 41-point loss--even to Santa Clara (2-0), the defending state Division II champion--is something else.

“(There’s a) lot of frustration,” Simi Valley Coach Dean Bradshaw said. “My worst nightmare is not as bad as that. Obviously, we weren’t ready to play tonight. And we sure didn’t compete. And, if that’s one thing that Simi Valley has stood for for I don’t know how long, it is that we compete.”

Simi Valley (3-2), which shot 37%, actually did compete for as long as it took Santa Clara guard Shon Tarver to warm up. After missing six of his first seven shots, Tarver made 12 of his next 18. He scored 32 points in the game and didn’t take a shot in the fourth quarter.

In the meantime, the Saints turned a 19-12 first-quarter lead into a 40-18 halftime advantage and, eventually, an 85-40 bulge. “I think we caught them on a bad night,” Santa Clara Coach Lou Cvijanovich said, “and they caught us on a exceptionally good night.”