Williamson Gives South a Reason for Optimism

If ever a standout athlete didn’t look the part, it’s Jimmy Williamson.

Small, frail and baby-faced, the South Torrance point guard looks as if he should be filling water bottles rather than filling up the basket, which he did with great frequency Tuesday night in leading the Spartans to a 65-62 victory over Bishop Montgomery in the Southern Section Division III-AA semifinals.

“He looks like some little kid you’d see shooting baskets at the park,” said a Bishop Montgomery fan.

Looks, though, can be deceiving. This guy is Billy the Kid in sneakers.

Playing before a standing-room-only crowd at North Torrance, Williamson scored a game-high 29 points and took control in the final minutes by scoring nine of South’s last 11 points. Included in the late run were two layups that broke Bishop Montgomery’s spirit.

After the Knights had pulled to 54-52 on a three-point play by center Andre English with four minutes 30 seconds left, Williamson dribbled nearly a minute off the clock near the half-court line before splitting the defense for a layup. Williamson did the same thing--this time finishing with his left hand--on South’s next possession to extend the lead to 58-52 with 2:13 left.

“I didn’t know what he was doing,” South Coach LaMont Henry said of Williamson’s stalling tactics. “It was all Jimmy tonight. We gave him the green light and he just took over.”

Williamson, who played the entire game, said he was catching his breath.

“It was one-third offense, one-third stall and one-third breathing,” he said. “I was dying at the end.”

Williamson and his teammates must prepare for their ultimate challenge. Third-seeded South (26-2) plays top-seeded Morningside (25-5), the defending State Division III champion, in the Division III-AA championship game at 6 p.m. Friday at Cal Poly Pomona.

“They have great athletes and great players,” said Williamson, who has played with several Monarch players in the off-season. “We have to work on their press and work on boxing out, because they can really crash the boards.”

Morningside, which has won its playoff games by margins of 23, 30 and 22 points, is expected to pressure Williamson at every opportunity. But the 5-foot-9 senior doesn’t think a special defense designed to stop him would work.

“If you go with a box-and-one, you give the other players a chance to step up, and they’ve been stepping up all year,” Williamson said.

Center Kyle McIntosh supported Williamson with 22 points, including eight in the first quarter when South took a 15-8 lead. The 6-7 senior outperformed the 6-6 English early in the game, but was not as effective defensively in the second half because of foul trouble. English scored 17 of his 25 points in the second half, mostly against South’s forwards.

“I felt all year that Kyle was a better player than English,” Henry said. “I think he showed it tonight.”

Others who contributed to South’s victory were 6-4 forwards John Calas and Spencer Mercer, who did a good job on the boards; forward Brandon Baxter and guard Chris Hammond, who played tough defense on Bishop Montgomery’s perimeter players; and reserve guard Derek Brown, who opened the second quarter with a three-point basket and made a critical steal after blocking a shot late in the game.

“Basically all the kids know their roles and play their roles down to a T,” Henry said.

That teamwork has resulted in South’s first appearance in a section final.

Three weeks ago, you would have had a tough time convincing St. Bernard basketball Coach Jim McClune that his team had a chance of winning a Southern Section title.

The Vikings were several games under .500 and on their way to a fifth-place finish in the Mission League.

“I was resigned to the fact that it was going to be my first losing season,” said McClune, who is in his 12th season as St. Bernard coach. “I think we all knew (a playoff berth) may not have happened. We were prepared for it.”

But a funny thing happened to St. Bernard on the road to nowhere. The Vikings were granted an at-large berth and, after three playoff victories, will play Corona del Mar in the Division IV-AA championship game at 7:30 p.m. Friday at Estancia High in Costa Mesa.

At 14-15, St. Bernard has the worst record of any team playing in a divisional final this weekend.

“If we win the CIF championship, we’ll be a .500 team,” McClune said. “It’s pretty ugly.”

Others, though, would say that’s the beauty of a playoff format based on enrollment. St. Bernard played a demanding schedule during the regular season that included many games against larger schools. In the playoffs, the Vikings have excelled against schools their own size.

“More than anything, it’s the playoff format,” said McClune, explaining his team’s postseason run. “That’s not to minimize the efforts of our kids and the fact that they’re playing better. We’re certainly more healthy now. It was awfully hard to get any kind of chemistry going with all the different lineups we had.”

St. Bernard lost its point guard, David Coleman, to a season-ending knee injury in December, and shooting guard Terrell Hickmon, the team’s leading scorer with a 16-point average, missed seven games because of chickenpox.

Healthy now, the Vikings have come together to reach their first section championship game since 1982, when they won the 3-A Division title in McClune’s first season as coach. Hickmon and guard Darren Mitchell have carried the scoring load; 5-8 junior Greg Metoyer, a tenacious defender, has done a nice job at point guard; and 6-3 forward Chris Bowman leads the team in rebounding.

“I’m very pleasantly surprised that we’re still playing,” McClune said. “It’s great for the kids. It’s going to be a positive ending, win or lose (Friday night), to kind of a disappointing season.”

As usual, look for the Mira Costa boys’ volleyball team to contend for a Southern Section title this spring.

The Mustangs, who are ranked third in the Division I preseason coaches’ poll, return four starters from the 1992 team that won the Ocean League title, reached the 4-A Division semifinals and finished 16-5.

“We do have a lot of talented kids,” Coach Mike Cook said. “Depth will not be a problem.”

Cook said colleges are showing the most interest in seniors Zane Smythe, a 6-foot-4 setter, and 6-6 middle blocker Chris Walmer, an all-section pick last season and the brother of pro beach volleyball player Tim Walmer.

Cook also sees a bright future for 6-5 middle blocker Brad Griebenow, a senior who distinguished himself on the junior varsity last season.

“He just has to be discovered,” Cook said of Griebenow. “He doesn’t play club ball, so he’s an unknown commodity (with recruiters).”

Mira Costa’s two returning outside hitters are senior Matt Walker and junior Sean Shoptaw, whose brother, Mark, was a standout for the Mustangs and now plays for UCLA.

Cook said he hopes to settle on a sixth starter soon. The Mustangs opened the season Wednesday night against Newport Harbor and play host to Loyola at 7:30 p.m. Friday.

Notes

Five area boys’ basketball teams play in championship games Friday night. Aside from the Morningside-South matchup, second-seeded Serra (21-7) plays Verbum Dei (22-4) in the Southern Section Division IV-A final at 7:30 at El Camino College, top-seeded Chadwick (21-7) meets second-seeded Brethren Christian of Cypress (22-7) in the V-AA final at 7:30 at Cypress College, and second-seeded Banning (16-12) plays top-seeded Monroe of North Hills (23-3) in the City Section 3-A final at 6:30 at the Sports Arena. . . . In girls’ finals this weekend, Narbonne (16-10) meets Jefferson for the City 3-A title at 2:30 Friday at the Sports Arena, and St. Bernard meets Santa Ynez in the Southern Section IV-AA final at 7:30 Saturday at El Segundo High. . . . West Torrance wrestler Tormod Anderson, who placed second at 140 pounds at the Masters Meet last weekend, will compete in the State Championships this weekend at the University of the Pacific.

South Bay Boys’ Basketball Top 10

Selected by Times Sportswriters (Through Tuesday’s Games) Rank, School, League: Record

1 Morningside (Ocean): 25-5

2 Serra (Camino Real): 21-7

3 South Torrance (Pioneer): 26-2

4 Bishop Montgomery (Mission): 22-3

5 Westchester (Metro): 22-7

6 Inglewood (Bay): 19-10

7 Peninsula (Bay): 20-8

8 Mira Costa (Ocean): 20-8

9 Chadwick (Prep): 21-7

10 St. Bernard (Mission): 14-15