Santa Margarita Gets Step in Right Direction

Since winning the boys’ basketball Division II-AA title last week, Santa Margarita has dared to think about facing two-time defending state champion Compton Dominguez.

But the Eagles cannot forget they have to win two games before then. So Tuesday they made sure their first step in the Southern California Regional playoffs was not a misstep, defeating Fresno Edison, 77-58, in front of an estimated 1,800 at Santa Margarita.

The Eagles (29-2) withstood a 38-point performance by Tiger guard Willie Johnson. They did so by not letting another Edison player reach double figures.

The Eagles were led by center Dekker McKeever’s 20 points and 14 rebounds.

Santa Margarita was particularly effective from three-point range, making seven of 12.

One reason the Eagles shot well was as soon as they broke the Tigers’ full-court pressure, they often got clear looks at the basket. And despite 12 turnovers, Santa Margarita ignored Edison’s efforts to make it a run-and-gun affair.

“They shot more threes than I wanted to see,” Edison Coach Pat Riddlesprigger said. “They are very well coached, they took care of the ball, make the extra pass to the open man, and they play unselfishly. Too often we came downcourt and fired up the first shot we saw. That’s not how I wanted us to play tonight.”

But even though the Eagles led at the half, 38-25, and had a 55-45 lead after three quarters, their effort did not please Coach Jerry DeBusk, who gave the team an earful before the start of the fourth quarter.

“What I said you can’t print,” DeBusk said. “I was very agitated. They still had visions of the Bren Center [victory last Thursday] in their heads. They had a lackadaisical practice on Monday and were somewhat flat. Even though we led, we let Fresno have their way.

“I told them if they want to get to Pauley Pavilion on Saturday they had to make a stand now.”

The Eagles got the message. McKeever got inside the Tigers’ defense for a couple of dunks and the zone defenses squeezed the Edison offense dry. Johnson scored 19 points in each half, grabbed 11 rebounds and blocked two shots, but he could not do it all himself.

“They were very pesky,” McKeever said. “They did everything they could to throw us off our game. And for most of the game we were sloppy. But we pulled it together and got the win.”

Edison, the Central Section runner-up, finishes 25-6.