CIF STATE BASKETBALL FINALS : Running Up the Score? Not Brethren Christian : Division V: Warriors don’t have 20- or 30-point per game scorer. But defense has gotten them to State title game.

The Brethren Christian Warriors have scored more than 47 points once in their last five games. In that span, the Warriors have shot 34% from the field and have executed a grand total of two fast breaks.

Does that sound like a team that has won 21 consecutive games?

Actually, the ugly statistics are more like those of a sixth-grade CYO team than one headed to Oakland to play in the Division V boys’ State title game.

Brethren Christian Coach Richard Thomas is not exactly proud of the offensive numbers, but he’s not about to apologize for the way his team plays. Thomas realizes that his opponents’ offensive numbers are hideous.

He knows the reason his team is still playing.

“Defense has kept us in games,” he said. “I’ll take a low-scoring game every time if it’s a win. We worked for four years on becoming a good defensive team. It’s a stabilizing factor. We don’t have a 20-to-30-point a game scorer, so we have to do it on the defensive end.”

Brethren does it mostly with a tough man-to-man defense. The kind that forced Palos Verdes Chadwick into several fourth-quarter turnovers in Brethren’s 47-46 comeback victory Saturday in the Southern California finals.

“They really step it up when they have to,” Chadwick Coach Tom Maier said. “We had an opportunity to make some layups, but their defensive intensity doesn’t allow you to finish off shots.”

Thomas would like to press more to speed up the game and create more easy opportunities on the offense, but he simply can’t.

“I’ve tried to save my players,” Thomas said. “Because we only use six players, we need to have some legs as we go through the season.”

Brethren’s lack of depth is also a reason for Thomas’ slow-down offense. He would love to run more or at least pick up the tempo but that is difficult to execute with only six effective players.

“Richard may say he’d like to run more, but I really think that’s their coffee break on offense because they work so hard on defense,” Maier said.

Their coffee break consists of a half-court offense that emphasizes the one-on-one and post-up abilities of Scott Thomas, Reggie Davis and Andy Brown and takes advantage of the outside shooting skills of Richard Mendoza and Seth Carey. Thomas said he took bits of his offense from Cerritos College Coach Jack Bogdanovich and Howard Lyon, former coach at Biola.

“I worked on it all summer and knew we had the type of team that could be effective with it,” he said.

Thomas calls it a five-man motion offense.

“It basically uses picks on the weak side that gives match-up advantages to Scott, Reggie and Andy,” he said. “It could also be called a power offense.”

Davis (6 feet 4), Thomas (6-3) and Brown (6-5) are not especially tall, but they are stronger and quicker than most players who guard them, and Richard Thomas has usually been able to find a mismatch or two in every game. Often, Scott Thomas, Brethren’s quickest and most explosive player, has the advantage over his opponent.

Thomas frequently capitalized on the mismatches in the regular season. But in the playoffs, opposing coaches have gotten wise. Nearly everyone is playing zone against the Warriors and making them shoot from outside.

“That’s been the key to shutting us down,” Thomas said. “We haven’t been able to kick people out of (the zone) by knocking down enough outside shots.”

Brethren almost did it early against Chadwick when Mendoza and Carey hit three-pointers and Thomas sneaked in for a layup. But the Warriors quickly cooled off--missing 13 of their next 14 shots--and Chadwick never left its 2-3 zone.

Even after his team had come back to win, Mendoza, Brethren’s point guard, remained frustrated by the Chadwick zone.

“I don’t know what offense to run against that zone,” he said. “They had three guys up top and I never knew what they were doing. I hate that zone.”

Expect Emeryville Emery, Brethren’s opponent Saturday, to run the hated zone. If that’s the case, expect another low-scoring, slow-paced game. And expect Brethren to be in great position to win its 22nd consecutive game.

BRETHREN CHRISTIAN IN THE STATE SPOTLIGHT

The Season Record: 26-7. Regular season: Finished 12-0 in Olympic League and has won 26 league games in a row over three seasons. Southern Section: Won Southern Section Division V-AA title, defeating Palos Verdes Chadwick, 44-43, in final and beating Brentwood, 40-37, in semifinals. Southern California Regional: Defeated Chadwick, 47-46, in overtime in final; defeated Fontana Ambassador Christian, 48-43, in overtime in semifinals.

The Coaches Head Coach: Richard Thomas, 10th year, 154-102. Assistants: Robin Davis, Dave Kirksey.

The Starting Five

Name Yr. Hgt. PPG Seth Carey Sr. 5-11 8.1 Richard Mendoza Jr. 5-10 9.8 Reggie Davis Jr. 6-4 11.2 Scott Thomas Sr. 6-3 13.2 Andy Brown Jr. 6-5 7.5

The Key Reserves

Name Yr. Hgt. PPG Keith Washington Jr. 6-0 4.3 Brian Thomas Sr. 6-0 1.6 Jason Conley Jr. 5-9 2.8 Jon Puls Jr. 5-11 0.0 Paul Diniakos Jr. 6-0 5.8 Kevin Green Sr. 6-0 1.3

The Starting Five Name: Coach’s Comment Seth Carey: As team captain, he does many of the intangible things. Richard Mendoza: He has matured as a point guard and has knocked down some big three-pointers. Reggie Davis: He has always been a good rebounder and defender. Scott Thomas: He is the most consistent player on offense, as well as being the best player on defense. Andy Brown: He is a determined and aggressive rebounder.

The Key Reserves Name: Coach’s Comment Keith Washington: A terrific sixth man, giving the team solid play on the boards. Brian Thomas: A good role player and three-point shooter. Jason Conley: Fills in at point guard and wing enthusiastically. Jon Puls: He came up from the junior varsity before the playoffs. Paul Diniakos: He performs the dual role of inside and outside scorer. Kevin Green: An aggressive and spirited player.