Santa Clara on Track for 1991-92 : Prep basketball: After losing state title game to Hayward, Saints heartened by the return of four starters.

On a gray, overcast Saturday morning, members of the Santa Clara High boys’ basketball team awoke in their hotel rooms, dressed and readied for a big day. A big day that would be spent away from the basketball court.

The Saints boarded a BART train for San Francisco and a day of seeing the sights. Cable cars, Fisherman’s Wharf and a tour of the City by the Bay were the order of the day for the kids from Oxnard.

After all, life goes on.

Santa Clara lived an on-court nightmare Friday night when the Saints’ were knocked out in their bid for a third consecutive state title by a haymaker from Hayward High. The Farmers, a more athletic and a quicker and better basketball team, thumped Santa Clara, 62-45, to win the Division IV title at the Coliseum Arena.

But there was no time for brooding, Coach Lou Cvijanovich said. The 33rd-year coach has guided the Saints in more than 850 basketball games, and he refuses to let his charges have anything less than pleasant memories of an outstanding season that lasted longer than most people--including the coach himself--thought.

“Hey, all good things must come to an end,” Cvijanovich said. “We’ve made three straight state finals and won two of three. That’s nothing to be ashamed of.”

Cvijanovich seemed to know that teen-agers, by nature, are a resilient bunch. They won’t leave their hearts in San Francisco. They’ll roam the wharf, smell the fresh crabs and feel the cool fog on their faces.

And when they look back on this season, the coach said, there will be more good than bad in a treasure trove of memories.

Santa Clara started its season without high school All-American Shon Tarver, who had graduated, and with a starting lineup of only two returnees and four juniors. Cvijanovich watched a young group mature in tough, early-season tournaments, in which they lost overtime decisions to Southern California Division I runner-up Santa Barbara and 1989-90 Division I state champion Mater Dei.

The Frontier League proved little problem for Santa Clara, which extended its league win streak to 60. The Saints then won their third consecutive Southern Section title with a 56-52 win over Verbum Dei.

Santa Clara played its finest all-around game of the playoffs in the Southern California final, dismissing San Diego Lincoln Prep, 68-55, to earn the right to face Hayward.

The Farmers (34-2) were better than Santa Clara (28-5) on almost all fronts. Faced with an intimidating defense, the Saints’ shooting plummeted to heretofore unseen depths.

Usually a high-percentage shooting team, Santa Clara made only 19 of 68 shots and took increasingly poorer shots as the deficit increased. Chris Cole, a steadying influence for most of the season, made two of 15 shots from the field and fellow junior Stevie Amar, one of the team’s best outside shooters, made one of nine.

Call it a learning experience for Santa Clara, which rests securely in the knowledge that, should the Saints return to Oakland next season, they will not face Hayward, which is moving up to Division III because of its growing enrollment.

“We’ve just got to start over,” Cole said.

Amar said that the team will be better in the long run for Friday night’s experience. “We got this far and four of five starters are juniors,” Amar said. “I can’t wait to come back and prove myself next year. I still feel proud that we won (the) Southern California (title). And we’ve got next year.”

Cvijanovich said that all things considered it was a good season.

“I told them we had a fine season,” Cvijanovich said. “We went 28-5. We won the Southern California title. We won the CIF title. We won the league. And that isn’t bad.”