A Long and Winding Road

The boys’ basketball team from Shasta High in Redding has to hope that tonight’s game against Compton Dominguez for the State Division II championship is as big a deal as was getting to the Pond of Anaheim.

By the time the Wolves tip off against the defending champion Dons at 8 p.m., they will have completed the two-week tournament by logging more miles than any other finalist.

Redding, which competes in the sparsely populated Northern Section, is about 100 miles south of the Oregon border. All three of its previous state tournament games have been on the road, the shortest jaunt a 2 1/2-hour bus ride to Sacramento for the Northern Regional final last Saturday.

“We’re used to going to other schools and playing,” said Redding Coach Chuck Crawford, whose team is playing in its first state final. “It’s probably to our advantage, taking so many trips, because when the playoffs come around it gives the kids a psychological edge.”

Redding (22-7) moved into a new league for schools with larger enrollments this season and ended up playing only five home games. Its shortest trip was a 1 1/2-hour trip to Chico, north of Sacramento.

“I can’t even tell you the number of miles we have traveled this year,” Crawford said. “I know that when I returned that van to the school after the trip to Merced [for first round of the state tournament] it had 1,200 miles on it.”

Center Chris Wardall, a 6-9 senior, has been traveling like this for four years.

“Mostly, we think about the game,” he said. “Most of these guys have traveled around a little bit, so I don’t think it has affected us much.”

The trip to the Pond is the longest yet for Redding and its opponent shouldn’t make it any easier. Dominguez (28-5) has a lineup that includes senior guard Kenny Brunner and juniors Tayshaun Prince, a 6-8 center, and 6-5 forward Jason Thomas.

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

Championships At a Glance

* What: State high school basketball championships.

* Where: Pond of Anaheim.

* When: Today and Saturday.

* Tickets: Sold through Ticketmaster, at the Pond box office or through participating schools. One ticket covers all of today’s games. Two tickets are required to see the whole session on Saturday, one for the daytime games, another for the two Division I games. Prices are $13 for plaza-level reserved seats, $9 for club-level reserved seats and $7 for terrace-level general admission seats. Participating schools have tickets for sale in the Club and Terrace levels only.

TODAY’S SCHEDULE

* Girls’ Division V: El Cajon Christian vs. Rincon Valley Christian, 2:30 p.m.

* Boys’ Division V: San Diego Horizon vs. Modesto Christian, 4:15 p.m.

* Girls’ Division II: Laguna Hills vs. Newark Memorial, 6:15 p.m.

* Boys’ Division II: Compton Dominguez vs. Redding Shasta, 8 p.m.

SATURDAY’S SCHEDULE

* Girls’ Division IV: Playa del Rey St. Bernard vs. Moraga Campolindo, 10 a.m.

* Boys’ Division IV: Santa Monica Crossroads vs. Sacramento Encina, 11:45 a.m.

* Girls’ Division III: Torrance Bishop Montgomery vs. Lafayette Acalanes, 1:15 p.m.

* Boys’ Division III: North Hollywood Harvard-Westlake vs. San Mateo Hillsdale, 3 p.m.

* Girls’ Division I: Crenshaw vs. Berkeley, 6 p.m.

* Boys’ Division I: Crenshaw vs. Alameda St. Joseph, 8 p.m.