Depleted La Quinta Makes Early Exit by Losing, 39-31

With two of its three best players out of the lineup for disciplinary reasons, La Quinta’s Southern Section playoffs ended much quicker than expected. The Aztecs, seeded fifth in Division III-AA, lost to Pomona, 39-31, on Friday.

The Aztecs were without the county’s fourth-leading scorer, 6-5 senior forward Chris Smith (22.3 points, nine rebounds) and the team’s third-leading scorer, guard William Chau (nine points). Both were not at school Friday and not allowed to play, according to Coach Craig Snider.

“The decision wasn’t difficult to make because it was so obvious they were ditching school,” Snider said. “The hard thing is dealing with the disappointment your players express when you break the news to them.”

Another player was academically ineligible, Snider said.

“It’s one of those things that just kind of happened,” he added. “We only have seven guys play, normally. The team was really good, we just weren’t deep.”

Senior Ben Fredrickson had 12 points and 15 rebounds for La Quinta (17-9).

Dustin Jordain scored 11 points for Pomona.

In Division I-AA:

Capistrano Valley 73, Yucaipa 67--J.J. Sola scored 28 points and Mike Stowell added 23 for Capistrano Valley (22-6). Jake Jones scored 17 points for Yucaipa (18-8).

Los Alamitos 63, Downey Warren 57--Jeff Grgas had 19 points and 11 rebounds for Los Alamitos (20-7), which will play Ontario next. Warren finished at 21-6.

Oxnard 82, Irvine 71--Damian Tafoya scored 25 points and Matthew Merricks had 24 for Oxnard (21-6), which won its seventh consecutive game.

Chris Ferguson scored 24 points for visiting Irvine (18-9).

In Division II-A:

Ocean View 75, Barstow 69--Tony Dow scored 23 points and had seven assists for host Ocean View (24-5) in a rematch of last season’s Division III-AA championship game. Barstow (21-5) came within two late in the game, but couldn’t get any closer. Ocean View plays Pacifica next.

Pacifica 68, Atascadero 52--Pacifica (27-1) trailed by one at the half and was able to beat Atascadero’s zone defense in the third quarter to pull away. Adam Rachlin had a game-high 18 for Pacifica.

Atascadero finished 19-7.

Pasadena Muir 73, Laguna Hills 54-- Muir (26-2) outscored Laguna Beach, 44-21, in the first half. Jason Rowe had 19 points for Muir.

Jeffrey Eittreim had 26 points for Laguna Hills (16-11).

Santa Margarita 59, El Centro Central Union 45--Senior Spencer Gloger scored 27 points for Santa Margarita (25-2), which advanced to play the Goleta Dos Pueblos.

In Division III-AA:

Servite 57, Monrovia 49--Billy Hamilton scored 14 points for Servite (15-12), which advanced to play Mission Hills Alemany.

In Division IV-AA:

Agoura Oak Park at Laguna Beach, ppd--The game was rescheduled for 7:30 tonight because no referees arrived for the game, Laguna Beach Coach Bret Fleming said.

In Division IV-A:

Calvary Chapel 70, Riverside Notre Dame 42--Brett Young had 33 points and 15 rebounds for host Calvary Chapel (18-9), which pulled away in the fourth, outscoring Notre Dame, 25-4. The Eagles advance to play the Mojave-Loma Linda Academy winner.

Orange Lutheran 64, Ventura St. Bonaventure 42--Jason Whieldon had 19 points and 10 assists and Pat Salyer had 16 points for visiting Orange Lutheran (15-10), which advanced to play top-seeded Los Angeles Verbum Dei in the quarterfinals.

Santa Monica Crossroads 58, Whittier Christian 51--Jon Stoa scored 24 points for visiting Whittier Christian (14-13).

In Division V-A:

Heritage Christian 64, Granada Hills Hillcrest Christian 45--Junior Matt Winter had 22 points and freshman David Grace had 13 points, including three three-pointers, for host Heritage Christian (16-9).

Heritage Christian advanced to play the Rolling Hills Prep-West L.A. Baptist winner.

Orangewood Academy 68, Ridgecrest Immanuel Christian 53--Starley Alvarado scored 29 points for visiting Orangewood (19-8), which advanced to play top-seeded Los Angeles Price.