DIVISION III BOYS’ PLAYOFFS : De La Nuez Takes His Best Shots, And Ramona Tips Kearny

It would be an understatement to say Alfonso De La Nuez has come a long way to help Ramona capture the Division III section championship. De La Nuez, a senior point guard, scored a game-high 21 points to lead the Bulldogs to a 73-55 victory Friday over Kearny at Golden Hall.

De La Nuez, an exchange student from Madrid, Spain, knew the Bulldogs had the potential to be section champions. And his shots traveled far and true also as Ramona (21-5) never trailed in this game. De La Nuez sank five of eight three-point shots, and Ramona broke the game open in the second quarter.

“We weren’t this good last year, but we worked really hard this year to get here,” De La Nuez said. “We can score, and we also have a good defense.”

“The kid from Spain’s a pretty good basketball player,” Kearny Coach Bill Peterson said. “We needed to shoot well to win. We didn’t shoot very well at all.”

Kearny (23-6) had plenty of opportunities to take control of the game early but missed all but one of its first 15 shots from the field. Many of them were high-percentage follow-up and baseline attempts. The Komets, who also turned the ball over five times in the first five minutes, fell behind, 12-4.

Conversely, Ramona tried to get fat from three-point range but shot hideously (two-for-nine, two air balls), until De La Neuz heated up. De La Neuz went on a spree, scoring 13 points in about six minutes. He buried three three-pointers, one as the buzzer sounded to end the first quarter and another with 6-foot-7 center Mike Oviedo in his face at the top of the key. His third three-pointer gave the Bulldogs a 31-20 lead early in the second period.

“A three-pointer in the last second was really important,” De La Nuez said. “I knew it would demoralize them.”

The Komets got some heroics from Darnay Scott (16 points) as both teams hit high gear in the second period. Scott took a rebound coast-to-coast for a slam dunk, his first of two in the half. He led all scorers in the first half with 14 points. But Ramona appeared unfazed, building its biggest lead at halftime, 42-30.

Kearny quickly cut the lead to 42-36 with a 7-0 run to open the third quarter, as Travis Knight (15 points), the Bulldogs’ 6-9 center, picked up his fourth foul and had to leave the game at the 5:38 mark. An Ali Nayab steal produced a dunk by Oviedo and John Lam buried a three-pointer to cut the lead to six.

But Ramona kept its distance. And the distance was about 24 feet from the basket, where De La Nuez buried two more threes. The Bulldogs opened the fourth quarter with a 52-42 lead and Knight back in the lineup.

Knight quickly scored off an offensive rebound, then Clint Cook (16 points) brought rain with a three-pointer from the wing to make it 57-42.

Timeout, Kearny.

Ballgame, Ramona.