Marina Advances With Upset : Division I-A: The Vikings out-hustled, out-muscled and outplayed San Bernardino, 57-52.

After 32 minutes of intensity, and a few more of mayhem, chaos and jubilation, Cherokee Parks was finally able to catch his breath and reflect.

The Marina High School basketball team had just won its biggest game of the season, a 57-52 victory over fourth-seeded San Bernardino, which advanced the Vikings into the Southern Section I-A semifinals against Mater Dei. The game only confirmed what Parks already knew.

“We had some problems this season and sometimes we didn’t work together as a team,” Parks said. “But from the first day of practice, I knew we could get this far. I knew we had this good of a team.”

San Bernardino and the more than 2,000 fans at Westminster High School can attest to that.

The Vikings, who were 6-7 early in the season, strutted their stuff from base line to base line the entire game. They out-hustled, out-muscled and outplayed the Cardinals--a team that won 25 consecutive games this season.

The game was a matchup of two of the best players in Southern California. Parks, a 6-foot-11 center, will attend Duke in the fall and Ray Owes, a 6-8 forward, will attend Arizona.

Their confrontation was a push; Owes scored 23 points and Parks 22. The difference was their supporting cast.

Marina (18-10), which has won 11 of its past 12 games, received strong games from Mike Carreon (10 points) Darren Crooks (eight) and Sean Haselrig (seven). Their outside shooting kept the Cardinals from packing it in on Parks. As a result, the Vikings shot 55.5%

San Bernardino (27-2) was without Quan Ha, its best outside shooter, who had injured his knee in Tuesday’s victory over Montclair. Without Ha, who had made 63 three-pointers this season, the Cardinals were limited to their inside game.

The Vikings countered with a 1-2-2 zone that dared the Cardinals to shoot from the outside. With the defense packed in tight, Owes made only nine of 24 shots and was one for seven in the fourth quarter.

“We haven’t used that zone much this season, but without Ha they had no one to shoot,” Marina Coach Steve Popovich said. “Besides, they were too quick for us.”

The game was close throughout and neither team led by more than six points through three quarters. The Vikings led, 26-24, at halftime.

Marina began to pull away with five minutes left. Carreon sank a three-pointer to cap a 7-0 run, which gave the Vikings a 44-37 lead with 5 minutes 48 seconds left.

It was the second consecutive big game for Carreon, who scored all of his points in the second half. Tuesday, he made a three-point field goal with five seconds left to give the Vikings a 59-57 victory over Capistrano Valley.

San Bernardino got as close as two, 48-46, with 2:37 left. However, a three-point play by Parks pushed the lead back to five.