HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL STATE REGIONAL BOYS’ PLAYOFFS : Fremont Scores Early, Beats Poway, 44-41

Top-seeded Fremont moved one step closer to the State championship Thursday night by defeating Poway, 44-41, in a Southern Regional Division I boys’ basketball semifinal at Cal State Dominguez Hills.

The Pathfinders (33-1) will play Santa Barbara at 9 p.m. Saturday in the Sports Arena in the regional title game. The winner plays the Northern Regional winner next Saturday in Oakland.

Poway (21-7) outscored the Pathfinders, 24-14, in the second half, but it was not enough to overcome a poor shooting first half.

Forward Antoine Dent led Fremont with 12 points.

Costa Mesa Estancia 56, Anaheim Servite 47--Estancia, which lost its bid for a sectional title six days ago, moved into the Southern Regional Division III championship with a victory at Cypress College.

Estancia (26-5) borrowed a page from Servite’s playbook, playing tough, man-to-man defense and pressuring the ball. The result was 23 turnovers by Servite, including 17 in the first half.

Servite (24-7) failed to get a shot in its first six possessions, repeatedly throwing the ball away and usually at midcourt. Estancia opened a 9-2 lead but had to settle for a 22-22 tie at halftime after making eight of 26 shots in the first half.

Estancia finally found the range in the third quarter with an assist from reserve guard Tim Leonard, who played only two minutes but hit a three-point shot that sparked his teammates. Estancia responded by making seven of 14 shots in the pivotal quarter.

Artesia 53, Oceanside El Camino 40--Sophomore center Avondre Jones scored 22 points, had seven rebounds and three blocked shots to lead the Pioneers (28-2) to a Division II victory at Gahr High.

Artesia will play Tustin in the Southern Regional final at 5:30 p.m. Saturday at the Sports Arena.

El Camino finished 23-6.

Sean Scurry and Jeff Reeves led El Camino with 11 points apiece.

Tustin 85, Escondido San Pasqual 61--Thomas Clayton scored 25 points and David Beilstein 24 to lead the Tillers (28-4) to a Division II victory at Tustin.

San Pasqual (20-8) could not handle the Tustin press. The Eagles turned the ball over 26 times, 15 in the first half.

Erik Meek, San Pasqual’s 6-foot-10 center, scored 25 points, five fewer than his season average.

Ribet Academy 58, Brentwood 52--The Fighting Frogs won in overtime at La Canada High in their closest game of the season, advancing to Saturday’s Division V Southern Regional finals.

Tied 50-50, guard Travis Davis scored six of Ribet’s eight points in overtime. Guard Jrmirol Duncan led the Fighting Frogs (30-2) with 19 points.

Guard Kevin Rille led Brentwood (19-11) with 17 points.

Santa Clara 57, St. Monica 53--Santa Clara (27-4) overcame an 11-point deficit in the second half to win its 21st consecutive playoff game in a Division IV Southern California Regional semifinal game at Ventura College.

Juniors Isaiah Mustafa (15 points), Chris Cole (13 points) and Stevie Amar (12 points) spearheaded the comeback for the two-time State Division IV champions. St. Monica (19-9) was led by sophomore Alex Davis, who scored 16 points.