BOYS’ BASKETBALL DIVISION I SEMIFINALS : It’s Sweetwater vs. Mt. Carmel

The San Diego Cavers had No. 1-ranked Sweetwater right where they wanted it midway through the second quarter. They had the lead (28-17), the momentum and appeared to be playing with a ton of confidence.

So what happened? How did San Diego wind up down 10 points with five minutes left in the game and on the wrong end of a 64-54 final?

“We got tentative and Sweetwater got some momentum,” San Diego Coach Dennis Kane said.

And?

“We didn’t execute our offense and we didn’t rebound on the defensive end, he said.”

Sweetwater Coach Dave Ybarra had another explanation for his team’s victory, which earned the Red Devils their first Section final appearance since 1980, when they won the title.

“We knew sooner or later John (Gilbert) was going to hit a three, or Joe (McDowell) would get a dunk, or Carlos (Campbell) would get going,” Ybarra said.

Sweetwater (27-1) meets Mt. Carmel--an easy, 67-46 victor over Patrick Henry--Friday night (8:30) at Golden Hall.

Ybarra apparently knew something because all three premonitions came true. Gilbert hit a three, Campbell hit a couple jumpers and McDowell hit a follow shot--his dunk would come later. Just like that, it was a six-point San Diego lead (30-24) at halftime.

Two more Gilbert three-pointers to open the second half and two Melvin Rushing free throws tied the score at 32. But after San Diego took a 40-37 lead with 2:40 remaining in the third quarter, Sweetwater really turned up the volume.

Meanwhile, San Diego went into hibernation, largely because its leading scorer Clark James picked up his fourth foul.

Immediately, Sweetwater went on a 6-0 run sparked by Campbell and McDowell. Campbell had a length of the court drive for a layup and McDowell had a steal and his dunk.

From there, San Diego closed to one twice, but never took the lead again. the Cavers trailed 48-46 after three quarters and 56-46 after a eight unanswered points by the Red Devils.

James, a 6-foot-5 forward came back in the game early in the fourth quarter, but began going one-on-one and forcing his shots. After scoring 23 points in the first three quarters, James missed his last five shots, all long jumpers, and was pulled with 1:40 left and San Diego trailing by 59-49.

“We got completely out of our offense,” Kane said.

“They can’t win with one person,” McDowell said. “Our defense is too good for that.”