Santa Clara Puts a Clamp on the Defending Champ : Division IV: Saints stifle Serra, 47-33, advance to championship game against Verbum Dei.

The Serra High boys’ basketball team had that polished look, the look of a defending state champion--which it was.

The Cavaliers took the court with a player who is going to Duke next year, Ricky Price. They could dunk, they could jump (boy, they could jump). But after tipping off against Santa Clara, a group of seeming ragamuffins, they couldn’t do any of those things.

Serra, last season’s state Division IV-A champion, was defeated by Santa Clara, 47-33, in front of an estimated 2,000 fans that sounded like 2,000 Santa Clara cheerleaders Tuesday night at Ventura College.

Surprise. It is the Saints (19-7) who will march on to Friday’s Southern Section Division IV-A final against Verbum Dei at UC Irvine’s Bren Center.

Price had 17 points, but Serra’s total of 33 was its lowest in five years. Frustration reared its ugly head in the fourth quarter when Cavalier Coach Dwan Hurt walked onto the court during play, shouting at a referee. He was hit with a triple-technical and ejected.

By then it was academic that Serra (16-10) was not going to repeat, and Hurt knew it. Before leaving the court, he hugged Santa Clara Coach Lou Cvijanovich in congratulations.

“We took them out of their game from the beginning,” said Cvijanovich, whose 1-2-1 zone limited Serra to two dunks and forced desperation perimeter shots. “We just executed to perfection.”

Santa Clara held Serra to two points in the first quarter. Serra made only 24% of its shots in the game, and Santa Clara’s Damien Cantrell (21 points, 13 rebounds) outshined Price.

Price said the victory avenged Serra’s 77-59 victory over Santa Clara in last year’s semifinals.

“I wanted this game more than the CIF championship game,” he said. “I think they came in too confident.”