Mayfair Sinks Santa Margarita

Lakewood Mayfair pulled off its second consecutive upset, defeating second-seeded Santa Margarita, 64-53, in the semifinals of the Division II-A Southern Section playoffs at Woodbridge High Friday night.

Mayfair (24-6), which upset third-seeded Pasadena Muir in the quarterfinals, will make the school’s first appearance in the finals, playing Inglewood at the Pond next Saturday.

Mayfair Coach David Breig switched his defense throughout the game, but it was when he went to man-to-man with five minutes left that made the difference.

Santa Margarita (26-3) was outscored 20-6 in the final quarter. Leading scorer Spencer Gloger was 0-5 from the field in the last eight minutes; his team was one for 12.

“We just couldn’t hit a shot at the end,” Santa Margarita Coach Jerry DeBusk said. “And [Mayfair] kept driving and penetrating our zone and that hurt us. They looked awfully good.”

After Gloger (27 points) gave the Eagles a 51-46 lead with 5:35 left, Breig made the switch on defense and got some three-point help on offense, turning the game Mayfair’s way.

“I honestly felt that in the second half they got tired,” said Breig. “We’ve been working our tails off conditioning and it showed in the last five minutes.”

Guard Jesus Miranda, the only senior in Mayfair’s starting five, hit a three-pointer with 3:50 left, pulling the Monsoons to within one at 51-50.

Gloger was called for charging on the opposite end and sophomore forward Josh Childress gave Mayfair the lead for good at 52-51 with 3:20 left.