Santa Clara Nails Down 3rd Title in a Row

That’s the nice thing about the 1990-91 Santa Clara High basketball team: When it throws a party on the hardwood, everyone is encouraged to participate.

The Saints won their third consecutive Southern Section title with a dogged 56-52 victory over Verbum Dei in a IV-AA Division game Friday night at Cerritos College. The win was as much a victory for democracy on the court as it was an automatic entry into next week’s state tournament, in which Santa Clara (25-4) will have a chance to claim its third consecutive state title.

Against quick and sharp-shooting Verbum Dei (17-11), it took everything Coach Lou Cvijanovich’s starting five could muster to dispose of the Eagles. But every time Cvijanovich pulled a string, his starting five of four juniors and one senior responded.

If it wasn’t senior forward Anthony Maestas burying a three-point shot in the fourth quarter, it was junior guard Art Barron making an important steal down the stretch.

And if it wasn’t junior forward Stevie Amar grabbing an offensive rebound after a missed free throw and making a jump shot, it was junior center Isaiah Mustafa doing the same thing with an Amar miss in the closing minutes.

Don’t forget junior forward Chris Cole stealing an inbounds pass with less than one minute to play and making two free throws to extend a three-point lead to 55-50 with 30 seconds left.

The final numbers reflected the Santa Clara democracy: Maestas had 15 points; Amar 12; Barron 12 points, five assists, four steals; Mustafa nine points and nine rebounds; and Cole had eight points.

“I’m just happier than heck for the kids,” Cvijanovich said, after watching his streak of playoff victories extend to 19. “This is a young group and they showed quite a bit of poise. They performed when they had to.”

Verbum Dei’s solid play ensured that Santa Clara would indeed have to perform well. Six-foot-six center Charles Barnes (15 points) created problems inside for Santa Clara, and junior guard Robert King’s slashing drives and pull-up jump shots left him with a game-high 22 points.

The game, in fact, was nip and tuck throughout, and when King buried a three-point basket with 3:17 left, Verbum Dei led, 47-46.

Barron then scored on a press-breaking drive to give Santa Clara a 48-47 lead. Then, after Barron rebounded a Verbum Dei miss, he made one free throw and missed the next. Amar, though, slipped around for the offensive rebound and banked in a short shot to make it 51-47 with 2:34 left.

After a Barron steal, Amar missed two free throws. But Mustafa grabbed the second miss, bounded right back up, and sank a five-foot jump shot to make it 53-47 with 1:38 left.

After King sank two free throws to narrow the score to 53-50, Cole responded with a pair of his own to give Santa Clara a 55-50 lead with 38 seconds left.

“I think our experience came out in the end,” Cole said. “I didn’t think it would be as tight as it was, but experience pays off.”

Cvijanovich expressed mixed feelings about next week’s state tournament, saying that he longs for the days when a Southern Section title was a team’s final goal. “In the good old days, a CIF title was it,” Cvijanovich said. “And as far as I’m concerned, it still is.”

It’s a nice sentiment, but don’t expect Santa Clara to throw in any gym towels next week when it plays host to a first-round game.

“Don’t get me wrong,” Cvijanovich said. “It would be nice to win (the state title) again.”