Southern Section Boys’ Basketball : Division II-AA Championship

Site--The Pond

When--2:45 today

Santa Margarita (22-6)--Starters: Dennis Keane, 6-4, Sr., guard, 16.4 points; Matt Pohlson, 5-10, Sr., guard, 2.4 points; Scott Balo, 6-4, Sr., guard, 7.4 points; Trey Nelson, 6-6, Sr., forward, 5.1 points; Allen Krist, 6-8, Sr., center, 20.4 points.

Riverside J.W. North (22-6)--Starters: Ron Baldwin, 5-9, Jr., guard, 14.2 points; Johnny Washington, 5-8, Jr., guard, 6.9 points; Todd Romasor, 6-5, Jr., forward, 12.8 points; Eric Edwards, 6-3, Jr., forward, 8.9 rebounds; Chris Claiborne, 6-4, Sr., center, 15.4 points.

Keys to the game--If experience in big games counts for anything, North figures to have the advantage. The Huskies are appearing in their sixth consecutive section championship game (one of them a Division I-A loss to Mater Dei in 1992); only Santa Clara (1959-64) and Los Angeles Verbum Dei (1969-74) have had a similar run. This will be North’s ninth title game since 1978. The Huskies have won twice, defeating Estancia in 1983 and Compton Dominguez in 1993. But all is not sunshine in Riverside; leading scorer Dwight Slaughter (18.0) was dismissed from the team at the start of the playoffs for reasons that remain between him and Coach Mike Bartees. But other players have increased their production, most notably Claiborne--headed to USC on a football scholarship--who has averaged 21 points in the playoffs. Santa Margarita is pursuing its second title in the last three years. Krist, the leader of Coach Jerry DeBusk’s senior-laden lineup, has been unstoppable when teams have tried to guard him one on one. But what might make the difference for Santa Margarita is how well Keane and Pohlson handle North’s defensive pressure and running game.