Thousand Oaks Wins Despite Plodding Pace of Camarillo

The Thousand Oaks High basketball team can be slowed--maybe even bored--but not stopped.

Not yet, anyway. The Lancers (13-1 overall) improved to 4-0 in Marmonte League play by inching to a snail-paced 42-30 victory over host Camarillo on Friday night.

Camarillo (6-8, 2-2), fresh off an 84-50 rout of Agoura, nearly made it two upsets in a row by employing a smothering defense and slow-motion offense.

“We expected them to come out and try to slow us down,” said Lancer center Nick Foster, who was held to six points. “They came out hard and strong. They did a good job.”

The game played like a tug of war for more than three quarters with minutes sometimes passing between baskets.

The score was 5-5 after one quarter. At halftime, Thousand Oaks led, 13-8.

The game remained close until early in the fourth quarter when Thousand Oaks parlayed a 7-2 run into a a 27-20 lead and finished by making nine of 10 free throws.

Thousand Oaks managed only one three-point basket, and it did not come until Denny LeVine connected early in the fourth quarter during the Lancers’ 7-2 run.

Lancer junior forward Jason Hartman led all scorers with 15 points and tied Foster with a team-high seven rebounds. Forward Paul Foster scored five points and had five rebounds.

“Our big men like to run as much as possible,” Hartman said. “For them to slow us down, they did a good job.”

Precisely the plan.

“Some people think that (style of play) to be boring, but we do it to be successful,” Camarillo Coach Mike Prewitt said. “We scored 84 points against Agoura and two days later, I asked the kids to come out and slow it down. The kids believed it was the right thing to do.”

The strategy might have paid off had the Scorpions shot more accurately. Camarillo made only 13 of 39 attempts from the field and four of 10 free throws.

Also, Thousand Oaks blocked nine shots, many in authoritative fashion. Early in the third quarter, the Foster twins each put five fingers on a shot by Jimmy Harbour.

Camarillo remained close behind the play of guard Jaime Jaquez, who scored a team-high 10 points, including eight in the fourth quarter.

A steal and a layup by Jaquez to begin the fourth quarter pulled Camarillo to within 20-18. But the Lancers countered with LeVine’s three-point basket.

Thousand Oaks, which made only three of 10 free throws in the first half, didn’t falter down the stretch. Guard Peter Lauer, who finished with 10 points, made eight of eight free throws, including six in the fourth quarter.