ROUNDUP : Coach’s Tirade Helps Brethren Christian Win

With Carpinteria Cate leading by seven in the first quarter, Brethren Christian Coach Richard Thomas called a timeout and unleashed a brief but effective tirade.

“I just told them to get out there and play some ball,” he said.

Brethren Christian responded and pulled away from Cate in the third quarter for a 44-36 victory in the Division V-AA quarterfinals Friday night at Cypress College.

Brethren Christian will play Tuesday in the semifinals against North Hollywood Campbell Hall, a 93-66 winner over Templeton.

“Defensive battles are ugly,” Thomas said, “but that was a defensive battle, because our offense didn’t show up.”

The Warriors closed to within two points at the end of the first quarter and trailed, 20-19, at halftime.

Brethren Christian (25-2), the No. 1-seeded team, held Cate (16-4) to five points in the third quarter.

With only a three-point lead going into the fourth quarter, the Warriors opened up their offense and kept the man-to-man defense tight to take a 39-30 lead.

Forward Chiron Hart, a senior, led the Warriors with 17 points, and was eight for 10 at the line. Junior guard Scott Thomas added 14 points.