BOYS’ BASKETBALL ROUNDUP : SCC Dominates Matchup at the Matchbox

It was supposed to be an intriguing matchup.

Thursday’s nonleague basketball game featured two of the county’s top scorers--Heritage Christian’s Jay Williams and Southern California Christian’s Josh Cameron--who also happened to be former teammates.

The site was SCC’s claustrophobic gym, nicknamed “The Matchbox,” and it was packed to its capacity of 150.

But the shootout never materialized, and SCC ran away to a 93-46 victory in Orange.

And the headliners were upstaged.

Cameron, a 6-foot-2 senior guard, managed 28 points but he sat out almost the entire second quarter after getting into early foul trouble.

Senior Brian Mendenhall paced the Flames (8-6) offensively, tallying 31 points and 16 rebounds. Defensively, 5-foot-5 guard Mike Duchene set the tone.

Duchene’s man-to-man denial defense helped frustrate Williams, a 5-11 junior guard, into a season-low 16-point performance. SCC mixed its man-to-man defense with a half-court trap and Williams made only five of 20 shots from the field.

“Duchene played a whale of a game,” SCC Coach J.T. Cameron said. “I don’t think they were expecting a smaller man on him, so Williams tried to post him up and that got him out of sync.”

Williams, who has scored 49 points against Bethel Baptist and 44 against Huntington Beach Claremont, entered the week leading the county in scoring average (nine games, 294 points, 32.7 average). Cameron was second (12 games, 343 points, 28.6 average).

Although Cameron went to the bench with 7 minutes 7 seconds remaining in the second quarter after picking up his third foul, Mendenhall scored 11 points in the quarter to help SCC take a 40-17 lead at halftime.

“Brian really stepped it up,” Cameron said.

SCC center Bret Lautt also played a solid game, finishing with 11 points and 12 rebounds.

Although Heritage Christian sophomore Jim Findlater had 15 points and 18 rebounds, the Patriots (6-5) never drew closer than 34 in the second half.

Basketball victories are a family affair at SCC for Jeff and Sharon Cameron, parents of five.

The youngest is Josh; the oldest, J.T., is in his fourth year as head coach. Eric Cameron also played basketball at SCC and is currently an assistant coach at SCC. The Cameron sisters, Keri and Heather, also attended the school.

Williams also attended SCC from seventh grade, but transferred to Heritage Christian last year where his father, Bob Williams, is the Patriots’ first-year coach.

In the Express League:

Palos Verdes Rolling Hills Prep 72, Huntington Beach Claremont 35--Steve Kimble scored 13 points for visiting Claremont (8-4, 1-4).