Clark to Test Faith Baptist in Title Game

Faith Baptist High basketball Coach Stuart Mason’s first order of business Friday was to find out as much as possible about the El Cajon Christian basketball team.

Mason found all he needed to know in two words: Tony Clark.

Clark, a 6-foot-8 senior forward, is averaging 43 points a game for Christian (18-11), which will play Faith Baptist (21-10) at 4:30 p.m. today at Cal State Dominguez Hills for the Southern California regional Division V championship. The winner advances to the state finals Friday in Oakland.

Clark, who will attend the University of Arizona in the fall, is reportedly one of the best players to come out of San Diego County. He holds section records for points in a career (2,474), season (1,264) and game (63, vs. La Jolla Country Day this season).

Clark scored 52 points against San Juan Capistrano St. Margaret’s in the regional opener Tuesday and added 30 against Paramount Brethren on Thursday in the regional semifinals.

“I’ve heard about all those records and numbers,” said Mason, whose team advanced to the regional final with a 61-57 upset of Ribet Christian on Thursday. “He sounds like a very good player. It also sounds like if we can shut him down, we’ll shut their team down.”

Christian, the San Diego Section Division V champion, sputtered early in the season as Clark received little support. But Coach Randy Wright said the rest of the Patriot lineup has developed, providing more relief for Clark.

Christian has plenty of size with 6-6 forward Dave Piester and 6-2 center Dwaine Lee.

The tallest player for Faith Baptist, the Southern Section Division I champion, is Peter Rasmussen, a 6-6 sophomore center who scored 18 points and grabbed 13 rebounds against Ribet Christian.

The Contenders’ leading scorer, Alex Estrada, a 5-8 sophomore guard, is battling the flu. But Estrada played in Tuesday’s 67-52 win over Calipatria and scored 17 points against Ribet Christian.

“Several of our guys are feeling a little under the weather,” Mason said. “We’ve been doing a lot of praying this week. We’ve got some more still to do.”