Parmer Repeats His Act For Verbum Dei

Marlon Parmer’s act is becoming familiar at Arco Arena.

For the second year in a row, the Verbum Dei guard decided the outcome of the Division IV state championship game with a clutch performance in the final minutes.

Parmer, a 6-foot-2 senior, scored eight of his game-high 31 points in overtime Saturday as Verbum Dei won its second consecutive title with a 74-63 victory over Sacramento Christian Brothers.

“I just try to put my team on my back,” said Parmer, who scored the Eagles’ last five points in regulation and had a basket and six free throws in overtime.

Senior forward Dalron Johnson also shouldered a good portion of the load with 21 points and 19 rebounds for the Eagles. The 6-9 senior, who will attend Nevada Las Vegas, made nine of 14 shots and had five blocks against a Christian Brothers team that had no player taller than 6-5. Verbum Dei outrebounded the Falcons, 39-24.

“It came down to height,” said 5-9 Christian Brothers guard T.J. Jennings, who scored all 12 of his points on three-point shots, including three in the final 4:20. “They kept getting key rebounds and blocks.”

And, as is its custom, Verbum Dei (31-7) kept getting the ball to Parmer in clutch situations.

In last year’s state final, Parmer scored eight of his 21 points in the final 3:13 of a 59-50 victory over Pacific Grove at Arco Arena.

This season, Parmer had outstanding performances against Southern Section Division I-AA champion Lakewood Artesia, Division II state champion Compton Dominguez and in the playoffs against Southern Section IV-A runner-up Santa Monica Crossroads and San Diego Section champion Horizon.

Parmer had a fast start against Christian Brothers (27-9). He opened the scoring with a baseline jumper and made consecutive three-point shots as the Eagles took a 13-3 lead in the first three minutes.

“I started off strong, but then they started playing me physically,” said Parmer, who was held scoreless in the second quarter.

Christian Brothers trailed, 37-31, at halftime. The Falcons came back and took their first lead, 57-56, on a three-point basket by Jennings with 1:45 left in regulation.

Parmer scored off drives on consecutive possessions to put Verbum Dei ahead, 60-57, before Jennings tied the score with another three-point basket with 26 seconds left.

Parmer had a chance to win the game in regulation, but Emon Graves stole the ball off the dribble near the top of the arc at Verbum Dei’s end of the floor and missed a desperation shot.

Parmer wasted no opportunities in overtime. His spin moves and drives resulted in three trips to the free throw line. He calmly made six of the Eagles’ 10 free throws in the extra period to secure the victory.

“It’s difficult to guard him,” Graves said. “You have to fight through a lot of screens. He’s a superstar, and he gets superstar calls [from the officials.]”

Cedric Franklin scored 20 points and Graves had 15 for Christian Brothers.

Washun Dashiell scored nine points and Larry Davenport added four for Verbum Dei.

The Eagles are 54-12 with two state championships in two seasons under Coach David Greenwood, the 1975 Southern Section player of the Year at Verbum Dei who played at UCLA and in the NBA.

Fresno Washington Union 77, El Cerrito 71--DeShawn Stevenson, one of the top juniors in the nation, scored 26 points and had seven rebounds for Washington Union in the Division III championship.

It was the fourth state championship for Washington Union (26-6). The Panthers also won in 1985, 1988 and 1996.

Andrew Gooden, who will attend Kansas next year, finished with 18 points and 19 rebounds for El Cerrito (31-4).

Jamal Hill led El Cerrito with 23 points and Emonte Jernigan had 12.