A Red-Hot Herring Helps Sink Burbank

Burbank High had Juni Williams but Compton had an answer. His name is Marcus Herring.

Herring helped the Tartar Lions turn a close game into a rout in the third quarter and sent Burbank to a 65-49 defeat in a quarterfinal game of the Southern Section Division II-AA playoffs Friday night at Occidental College.

Williams, averaging 18 points a game, was limited by Compton’s suffocating man-to-man defense and cold shooting to six points. He made three of 14 shots and did not score until the 6:17 mark of the third quarter.

“I feel like if I was into the game, we could have won,” Williams said. “It was really frustrating.”

Herring, a senior forward, did most of his damage inside for second-seeded Compton (24-5), especially in the third quarter. Herring had 18 points and six rebounds, and he got five points, four rebounds and two steals in the third quarter as the Tartar Lions turned a 35-29 halftime lead into an 18-point advantage.

Herring’s performance picked up the slack for Compton’s 6-foot-9 junior center, David Hamilton, who left the game with an injured left leg two minutes into the quarter. Hamilton, who returned to play the fourth quarter, finished with 18 points and 12 rebounds.

The Bulldogs (15-12) pulled to within 31-29 with two minutes to go in the second quarter on a basket by Carlos Escoto.

Burbank fell behind, 27-18, when Compton scored the first six points of the second quarter. But the Bulldogs closed the gap behind the play of Bobby Moore and Steve Silveria.

Moore had three steals and three rebounds in the quarter and Silveria scored seven of his 13 first-half points. Silveria finished with 16 points.

In the decisive third quarter, though, the Bulldogs made just two of 13 shots. They were 21 of 51 for the game.

“They just started to wear us down in the second half,” Burbank Coach Ron Quarterman said. “I hate to lose, but I’m proud of my guys. We had a real good run.”

The Bulldogs lost their last two Foothill League games and finished in third place, but won playoff games over Santa Barbara and San Marcos.