Oh, Brother: Murray Lifts Glendora Past Artesia

Sophomore point guard Cameron Murray, looking every bit like his brother Tracy, scored 31 points Saturday to lead Glendora to a 66-48 rout of Lakewood Artesia in the Southern Section Division II-AA championship game at the Sports Arena.

Before a record afternoon session crowd of 10,330, Murray led a dramatic turnaround with four three-point shots.

Murray clearly outplayed Artesia forward Charles O’Bannon, whose brother Ed plays for UCLA with Tracy Murray.

Charles O’Bannon made six of 14 shots and scored 14 points. He also had five of the team’s 23 turnovers and only three rebounds.

“Tracy is my brother, so we’re bound to look alike out on the court,” said Cameron Murray, who is 6 feet. “Our parents taught us the game, so we’ve had good teachers.”

The victory improved top-seeded Glendora to 31-0 and gave the school a berth in this week’s Southern Regional of the State Division II playoffs. The Tartans lost the State Division II championship game to Menlo Atherton in 1989 despite a record 64 points by Tracy Murray.

Artesia (25-4), seeded second, also is ensured a Regional berth. The Pioneers won the State Division II title in 1990.

Although Glendora entered Saturday’s game with the only undefeated record in the boys’ tournament, many felt Artesia was the favorite because of strength of schedule and its inside combination of 6-6 O’Bannon and 6-11 center Avondre Jones.

But O’Bannon and Jones got into early foul trouble and sat on the bench for most of the second quarter. After helping the Pioneers to a 21-11 first-quarter lead, the junior players watched in frustration as Murray-led Glendora turned the momentum.

The Tartans outscored Artesia, 23-11, during the second quarter to take a 34-32 halftime lead. Murray made two three-pointers in final 39 seconds of the first half, including one as it ended. The shot brought the large Glendora contingency to its feet.

“I really felt a big momentum swing on that last shot,” said Wayne Merino, Artesia’s coach. “We definitely did not leave the court pumped up.”

Artesia did not play emotional basketball during the second half, either. The team made only 20% of its shots the rest of the way.

The Pioneers were outscored, 55-27, after the first quarter.

Merino was not happy with the officiating. His team was called for 26 fouls to 18 for Glendora. He expressed his displeasure several times during the game, but was not assessed a technical foul.

When asked about the officiating, he said he had no comment.

“But if we meet Glendora in the Regional final, I sure hope the elements are different,” Merino said.

Mike LeDuc, Glendora’s coach, was frustrated by his team’s slow start and was assessed a technical foul late in the first quarter. Artesia took an 8-1 lead.

“The key in the end was that we played tremendous defense,” LeDuc said. “I was a little concerned early on, but we came back twice in the playoffs already so I knew we could do it again.”

Senior forward Brandon Lee controlled the inside for Glendora, finishing with 18 points and a team-high six rebounds.