Santa Margarita Not in Top Form, but Canyon Falls

Santa Margarita, on the strength of some late free throws, got by host Canyon Tuesday night in the second round of the Division II-AA boys’ basketball playoffs.

The 40-24 outcome was more notable for its mistakes than its highlights. Canyon didn’t reach double figures in scoring in any quarter and had only four players score at all. The Commanches committed 15 turnovers, including five in the latter part of the second half that eventually led to their downfall.

Santa Margarita wasn’t setting the world on fire, either. Leading scorer Allen Krist, who averages nearly 18 points a game, made only one of five field-goal attempts, and that came with six minutes, 42 seconds to play. Krist, who sat out a large part of the first and third quarters with foul trouble, finished with 10 points on the strength of his eight-for-10 performance at the free-throw line. Five of those came down the stretch when the Eagles finally pulled away.

But, then, playoff victories don’t have to be pretty.

“You can take away me, but you can’t take away the rest of my team,” Krist, bothered all night by a sagging 1-2-2 zone defense that shifted into all kinds of configurations, said. “We won. That’s all that counts.”

The Eagles used a 2-3 zone defense that acted like a wet blanket against their opponent. Not only did Canyon shoot poorly (11 of 39 from the field), the Commanches had difficulty getting inside, particularly in the second half, when they made only three field goals. Their lone basket of the fourth quarter was by guard William Byrd with a little over three minutes left in the game, cutting Santa Margarita’s lead to 32-24.

“We couldn’t buy a basket all night,” Canyon Coach Steve Sabins said. “They’re big. We only have two post players and they both fouled out. We couldn’t go inside. They’re a good team and we knew we had to shoot well to overcome them.”

The Eagles’ Scott Balo led all scorers with 13 points and Krist, despite all the attention in the low post, managed 11 rebounds.

“That certainly is as hard as I have been pushed around all year,” Krist said. “Give them credit. We couldn’t do a lot inside.”

Santa Margarita made only five of 23 field-goal attempts in the first half and got off only 11 attempts in the second half.

Canyon stayed with Santa Margarita for most of three quarters. The Commanches took a 10-9 lead after the first quarter, and trailed, 18-17, at the half, despite making only eight of 20 field-goal attempts.

A rebound by forward Kody Miller led to his basket as the third quarter opened and Canyon led, 19-18.

Santa Margarita went on a 7-3 run a took a 25-22 lead at the end of the quarter.

The Eagles used free throws to extend their lead in the final period. They made eight in the final five minutes, with Krist getting his five within a four-minute span.

In other Division II-AA games:

Woodbridge 99, Yucaipa 74--Chris Burgess scored 43 points and had 15 rebounds and seven blocks for Woodbridge (23-6). Teammate Brandon Beeson scored 17 points.

Bruce Power scored 22 for Yucaipa (15-12).

Woodbridge plays Riverside J.W. North Friday.

Cypress 44, Murrieta Valley 40--Murrieta Valley took a one-point led with 90 seconds remaining, but Cypress finished the game with a 7-2 run. Chad Boberg had 19 points and 10 rebounds and Wes Bunn added 10 points and eight assists for the Centurions (23-4).

San Clemente 69, North Torrance 65--Semaj Johnson hit two free throws with three seconds left to clinch the victory for San Clemente (17-11). Jan Tatala, who scored 19 points, gave the Tritons a 67-65 lead with 56 seconds to play.

San Clemente plays the winner of Moreno Valley and San Gorgonio San Andreas.