PREP NOTES : Playoff Loss Leaves Morningside in Shock

Before Tuesday night, the worst basketball loss Ron Randle had experienced was in 1973 as a backup player for Morningside High School.

The Monarchs, coached by Jim Harrick, carried a 30-0 record into a Southern Section playoff game against unheralded Glendale Hoover and boasted a powerful lineup that included future college stars Jackie Robinson (Nevada-Las Vegas), Michael Ingram (Cal State Los Angeles) and Oscar Williams (Utah State).

When Morningside lost to Hoover in Harrick’s final game at Morningside, the result was met with shock.

“It was the biggest upset at the time,” Randle recalled.

Now the co-coach of Morningside, Randle suffered another upset of mammoth proportions Tuesday night when the top-seeded Monarchs were beaten by Lompoc, 83-80, in the quarterfinals of the 3-AA playoffs at Inglewood High.

Morningside, the top-ranked Division III team in the state all season, was considered a lock for the 3-AA crown. The Monarchs carried a 24-3 record into Tuesday’s game on the strength of a deep and talented lineup that had put most opponents away before the fourth quarter. Their closest game on the way to an unbeaten Ocean League campaign was a 13-point victory over Redondo.

But there are no sure things in the playoffs.

Lompoc, a team with good speed and a strong guard in Marshall Emerson, came back from a seven-point halftime deficit to end Morningside’s dream of winning Southern Section and state titles.

Emerson’s length-of-the-court drive for a layup with 34 seconds left gave Lompoc the lead for good, 81-80. Morningside forward Tyrone Paul, who led all scorers with 27 points, had a chance to put the Monarchs ahead, but he missed a short turnaround jumper.

Lompoc’s Duane Jeter rebounded the miss and was fouled. He sank two free throws with eight seconds left to account for the final score.

Afterward, Morningside co-coach Carl Franklin told the Daily Breeze that the Monarchs’ high rankings “didn’t mean a thing.”

In the playoffs, they never do.

Franklin, in his 14th season as Morningside’s head coach, said Monday that he would resign if the Monarchs won the state title.

In light of Tuesday’s loss, it is presumed that Franklin will return.

Randle said he wouldn’t be surprised.

“I think any time you have something in your blood, it’s hard to get it out of your system,” he said. “His love and commitment to the game probably are what have kept him in there so long. He’s been a great leader throughout his tenure at Morningside. It’s hard to sever those ties, no matter what the other opportunities are.”

Franklin said he was considering resigning so that he could devote more time to his other duties as athletic director and dean of students.

Morningside ended the season with a 24-4 record and 49 victories over the last two seasons, by far the most of any South Bay team in the same period.

Rolling Hills, which lost in the second round of the 3-AA playoffs Friday, ranks second with 39 wins.

While Morningside was losing Tuesday night, Chadwick was upsetting the top seed in the 1-A playoffs at home.

The Dolphins, getting big efforts from unexpected sources, defeated Mission Prep of San Luis Obispo in double overtime, 84-81, to reach the semifinals for the sixth time in 18 years under Coach Tom Maier.

“We pulled one off,” said Maier, whose team meets Brethren of Paramount at 7:30 Friday night at Miraleste High. “We were a little lucky.”

Chadwick (18-8) got a big game from light-scoring point guard Evan Calbi. The junior hit a three-point shot with two seconds left in the fourth quarter to send the game into overtime, and he clinched the contest with a steal and two free throws with three seconds left in the second overtime.

In between, sophomore Nate Severson, who was one for 12 from the foul line this season, hit two free throws with about a minute left to pull the Dolphins within one point, 81-80. Chris Gordon’s short jumper was the winning basket.

And Chadwick pulled it out despite losing forward Larry Williams, the team leader in scoring and rebounding, with five fouls late in the first overtime.

“It was one of the classics,” Maier said. “I’m glad the kids experienced this; that’s the bottom line. Even when (Williams) went out, we didn’t suffer. We played quite well together.”

Maier said the exciting finish made for a loud Chadwick gym.

“The decibel level was the highest it’s been in years,” he said.

El Segundo (15-13) will make its second consecutive trip to the semifinals after running away from fourth-seeded Orange Lutheran, 80-63, Tuesday night in the 2-A Division playoffs at West Torrance High.

The Eagles will play top-seeded Laguna Beach (21-5), a 73-62 winner over Bishop, at 7:30 Friday night at Rolling Hills High.

El Segundo’s balanced lineup, headed by guard Scott Panfil, forward Tate Seefried and center Kenny Talanoa, proved too strong for Orange Lutheran as the Eagles pulled away in the second half.

If El Segundo wins Friday, it will reach the Southern Section finals for the first time since 1967, when a team coached by Cliff Warren and starring Dana Pagett lost the major division title game in overtime to Monrovia.

A disparity in free throws and poor foul shooting were major factors in Bishop Montgomery’s 73-68 loss Tuesday to second-seeded San Marcos of Santa Barbara in the 4-A quarterfinals at Dos Pueblos High in Goleta.

The Knights made only six of 16 free-throw attempts, while San Marcos hit 23 of 34 tries.

“It’s always a little bit tougher on the road,” Bishop Montgomery Coach Doug Mitchell said. “But it wasn’t a big-time homer job. We pressure people, so I expect to get more fouls. Going six for 16 is what hurts, because a lot of them were front ends of one-and-ones.”

Bishop Montgomery had trouble stopping San Marcos’ Rob Ramaker, a 6-foot-8 sophomore who tied Knight guard Darrell Daniel for game-high scoring honors with 25 points.

“They’re a big, physical team, and they were pounding it inside,” said Mitchell, whose tallest starter is 6-6 Pete Tolliver. “They beat Crenshaw earlier in the year. Plus, it’s always tough playing up there.”

Still, it was a successful season. In Mitchell’s first year as coach, the Knights reached the playoffs for the first time since 1983 and finished with a 16-8 record.

“We’re pretty happy,” he said. “I think we turned some things around. It’s been a while since Bishop Montgomery won a playoff game. I know it’s been over 10 years.

“We have pretty good young players, so I think we’ll continue to be good. We had to develop a winning attitude.”

Mitchell also intends to develop continuity as head coach. He said he will return next season, marking the first time for Bishop Montgomery to have the same varsity coach for two straight years since 1986.

“One of my seniors (forward Joe Magyar) told me I was his fifth varsity coach in four years,” Mitchell said. “That’s a lot of coaches.”

PREP NOTES--Culver City, which finished second to Morningside in the Ocean League basketball race, has been on fire in the Southern Section 3-AA playoffs. The Centaurs (16-9) routed Seaview League champion Newport Harbor, 93-66, in a second-round game and upset second-seeded Brea-Olinda, 94-78, in the quarterfinals Tuesday. Coach Marty Siegal’s team meets Servite in the semifinals Friday night at St. Bernard High. . . . Second-seeded Loyola High, featuring 6-11 center Ryan Jamison, will play Pasadena in the 5-A semifinals Friday night at Redondo High. . . . Goalkeeper Heidi Emmrich recorded South Torrance’s second shutout of the 4-A girls soccer playoffs as the Spartans beat Thousand Oaks, 3-0, Tuesday. South (17-5-1) will play at second-seeded Upland (23-1-0) in the quarterfinals at 3 p.m. Friday. . . . Palos Verdes’ boys soccer team resumes the 4-A playoffs Friday with a quarterfinal-round game at Marina of Huntington Beach. . . . In 1-A girls soccer quarterfinals Friday, El Segundo will play host to Marymount of West L.A. and Miraleste travels to Oak Park of Agoura. El Segundo, an at-large entry, upset top seed Santa Margarita, 1-0, in the first round.