Ocean View No Match for Washington Union

Washington Union has wanted competition for a long time. Thursday night, it found some--for a while.

Fourth-seeded Ocean View hung with the top-seeded Panthers, ranked No. 6 in the state, for more than a half before Washington pulled away to a 66-44 victory in the Division III regional semifinal.

“It was hard, but fun,” Washington sophomore guard DeShawn Stevenson said. “We could have played better defense, though.”

The Panthers, 1996 Division IV state champions, will play University of San Diego High at 8 p.m. Saturday at Long Beach State.

Arkansas-bound center Chris Jefferies hurt his left foot early in the fourth quarter and was taken to a hospital for X-rays. Washington Coach Vonn Webb said he didn’t know the extent of the injury or if Jefferies, who scored a game-high 22 points, would be able to play Saturday.

Stevenson bruised his right hip, but stayed in the game.

The Panthers (27-3), who have won 20 straight, are accustomed to winning by lopsided scores, but the Seahawks stayed close, trailing, 28-22, before Stevenson closed the half with two free throws and an inside basket.

Ocean View scored its first three points of the second half to close to 32-25 and was within 10 midway through the third quarter.

But Jefferies made a three-pointer with 2 minutes 8 seconds left in the quarter to open a 12-0 run by Washington, and the Seahawks never got back in it.

“It seemed like they were always right there,” Webb said. “We couldn’t put them away, and that little run kind of put them away.” Jefferies had a dunk and another three-pointer during the spurt.

“Obviously, they are extremely talented,” Ocean View Coach Jim Harris said. “[But] I think we backed off a little because of it. I think we were in awe of their talent.”

Washington has scored more than 100 points nine times this season, but played a much slower-than-usual game against the Seahawks (26-5).

“They’re a good team, well-disciplined, intelligent kids, and they know how to play basketball,” Webb said. “You don’t get this far without being a good team.”