JUNIOR COLLEGE BASKETBALL PREVIEW : Antelope Valley On Guard for Moorpark in Regional

Moorpark and Antelope Valley colleges will be playing for a berth in the final eight of the Southern California regional of the state men’s junior college basketball tournament tonight, but the point is, well, the points.

The 7 p.m. game at Antelope Valley matches two of the best, if not the best, junior college point guards in the state--Moorpark’s 5-foot-8 Sam Crawford and Antelope Valley’s 6-0 Dedan Thomas.

Although Crawford averaged 20.4 points a game and Thomas 12.4, the bottom line when these freshman dynamos get together is not necessarily a matter of scoring alone. Crawford (12.0) and Thomas (9.5) rank first and second in the latest state assist rankings, and each set his school’s single-season assist record.

Both are in junior college because of academic problems that prevented them from matriculating to four-year schools, but both have major-college talent. Thomas, who played at Taft High, originally intended to attend Nevada Las Vegas, and Crawford was recruited by numerous major colleges while at Westchester High.

Crawford has led 13th-seeded Moorpark to a 22-10 record, and Thomas, nearly fully recovered from midseason knee surgery, helped fourth-seeded Antelope Valley finish 27-6.

The former summer-league teammates met in mid-November when Antelope Valley beat Moorpark, 81-66.

In that game, Thomas scored 19 points, handed out 10 assists, grabbed six rebounds and had only two turnovers. Crawford, hampered by foul trouble, played one of his worst games of the season, scoring nine points with four assists and four turnovers.

“It will be sort of like a rematch between Sam and Dedan, two very good guards,” Moorpark Coach Al Nordquist said.

Two other Valley-area teams will be in action tonight.

Fifth-seeded Valley (22-10), the Western State Conference champion, will play host to Golden West (22-10) and its 6-10 center, Alex Kreps, at 7. The victor will play the winner of the Moorpark-Antelope Valley game for a berth in the state final eight at UC Irvine.

Kreps averages 20 points and 8.8 rebounds, but fast-breaking Golden West lacks guard depth. Valley will counter with a balanced attack led by WSC Player of the Year Andre Harrell.

Glendale (23-11) will travel to sixth-seeded Cerritos (22-10) for a 7:30 game. Cerritos is the defending state champion, but Glendale has an experienced lineup with five sophomore starters, four of whom average in double figures.

Only the 11th-seeded team, Glendale has nonetheless defeated three of the top six teams (Antelope Valley, Valley and Cypress), and Coach Brian Beauchemin is optimistic about an engagement in Irvine.

“We’ve got a good chance this year,” he said.