El Camino Reverses Fortune Against RB

El Camino’s streak of winning seven consecutive Avocado League boys’ basketball titles is over. It has been for a week--it was beaten by the new champion, undefeated Carlsbad.

So now, junior guard Bryant Westbrook figures, the ninth-ranked Wildcats (19-6, 12-2) have something to prove. They began by scoring a 67-63 overtime victory at Rancho Bernardo (15-10, 8-6) Friday night.

Both teams needed a victory with next week’s playoff seedings being decided today.

Both gave it a pretty good shot.

“We had to prove something to ourselves,” said Westbrook, who scored 16 points. “We had to prove we could play; we haven’t played good basketball in two weeks.”

But they still had enough to win, except for the 81-78 overtime loss to Carlsbad. But they reversed their overtime fortune against the Broncos.

“That’s a tough one to lose,” El Camino Coach Ray Johnson said. “That showed (we) have playoff intensity right now.”

Johnson told his team to treat the game like a playoff contest, and the Wildcats did exactly that. They trailed by eight points in the second quarter but had a lead before the half ended.

They scored four straight baskets--three set up by steals--from four different players to take a 48-41 lead in the third quarter, then held off a furious comeback by Rancho Bernardo.

The Broncos, sparked by David Santos (12 points), led 57-53 with 3:41 left. But Tyrone Butler (12) and Westbrook scored to tie the game. The teams traded baskets, then Mike Ruff drove to the basket while taking in a long rebound to give RB a 61-59 edge with 46 seconds to go. Butler put back a rebound with 34 seconds remaining to tie to force the extra period.

The Broncos had the best chance to win the game in regulation, but shots by Bill McMahon (14 points) and Kirk Hipple (17) went in and out in the final seconds.

A pair of free throws by Chris Dade (21 points) and Westbrook gave El Camino a 65-61 lead with 57 seconds remaining in overtime. Santos answered with a basket before fouling out with 22 seconds to go. Dade scored on a long pass with with two seconds left to finish the job.

Because it isn’t Avocado League champion, El Camino knows it isn’t going into the playoffs as the top seed, a position it is accustomed to.

Nobody’s complaining, even though El CAmino was the Times’ preseason No. 1 selection.

“I think it’s good (to be an underdog), because we need to earn some respect,” Johnson said. “We got a lot at the beginning of the year, now we’ve got to earn it.”

Westbrook: “As an underdog, you can surprise people. We’ve got to prove something to the county; we’re still El Camino.”

Rancho Bernardo, too, was looking for some respect after losing three of its previous four games--two to teams without winning records. A victory over a top 10 team would have given it some leverage at the seeding meeting.

“We wanted to go into the tournament with some momentum,” RB Coach Chris Carter said. “It would have put us in good position if we had won.”

The Broncos will play Division I; El Camino will play Division II.