For Glendale, Blocking Path to State Finals Is No. 1 Team

Now comes an unenviable task for Coach Brian Beauchemin of the Glendale College men’s basketball team.

All he has to do is figure how to beat L.A. City in a Southern California Regional third-round game on Saturday night.

Tough assignment? They don’t get much tougher.

L.A. City (33-2) is ranked No. 1 in the state and is playing at home.

The Cubs rely on forward Jimmy Miggins and center Randy Holcumb, who each scored 20 points in City’s 79-65 victory over Fullerton on Wednesday.

Glendale (24-8) is seeded No. 9 in the regional. The scrappy Vaqueros rely on balance, although guard Clayton Powdrill averaged 14.1 points in the regular season and gets much of the attention.

Yet, Beauchemin believes the Vaqueros can give City a tussle even though they are big underdogs.

“We don’t match up real well against them but, conversely, I don’t know if they match up real well against us,” Beauchemin said. “We are a hard team to prepare for because we have so many different guys. We have seven guys averaging nine or more points.”

An upset puts the Vaqueros in the state championships for the first time since 1985. The Final Eight, as the tournament is also known, is Thursday through March 11 at the University of the Pacific in Stockton.

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Coach Remy McCarthy of Moorpark knows how Beauchemin feels. The No. 5-seeded Raiders (25-7) meet No. 4 Cerritos (27-6), defending state champion, in a third-round game on Saturday night.

“I figured it’s just another day at the beach,” McCarthy said.

Cerritos might not want to kick sand in Moorpark’s face. The Raiders, behind emotional leader Dan Galvanoni, don’t back down.

Galvanoni, a sophomore transfer from Nevada, is among the state’s top three-point shooters and might feel at home at Cerritos.

“It’s a good shooters’ gym and that’s good for us,” McCarthy said.

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Michael Crawford, Valley’s 6-foot-6 center, didn’t star in “Phantom of the Opera” but he has a flair for the dramatic.

Crawford, a freshman from Simi Valley High, made two free throws with one second to play against Oxnard to tie the score, 80-80, in regulation in a regional second-round game Wednesday night.

The No. 6-seeded Monarchs (25-8) won in overtime, 99-92, and meet No. 3 Santa Ana (28-5) in a third-round game on Saturday at Santa Ana. The winner goes to Stockton.

Crawford was in a similar spot against Santa Monica in a Western State Conference game on Jan. 22. He needed to make two free throws with one second remaining but missed both and the Monarchs lost, 87-86.

Oxnard called a timeout between free throws to unnerve Crawford, but it didn’t work.

“I blocked everything out,” Crawford said. “I didn’t go sit on the bench during the timeout. I just stood on the floor. . . . I knew that if I missed, the season was over.”

For those wondering, Crawford is a 68% free-throw shooter.

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Oxnard gave away too much size and muscle to Valley without standout 6-8 center Chris Massie, who was home in Houston attending to his sick girlfriend.

Massie, who led the Condors with averages of 19.0 points and 13.8 rebounds, was expected back for the game against Valley.

Coach Ron McClurkin was irritated after the game when asked how much the team missed Massie.

“It had nothing to do with him,” McClurkin said. “We had a great season. Can’t take away anything from these guys.”

Massie’s mother, Bernice, said he would return to Oxnard today. Unfortunately for the Condors, it’s a bit late.

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Four of the eight teams remaining in the men’s regional are from the WSC--Bakersfield, Glendale, Moorpark and Valley.

Two other teams are from the South Coast Conference and two are from the Orange Empire Conference.

When the regional started on Feb. 25 with 32 teams, the WSC and South Coast each had eight participants, the Orange Empire seven, the Foothill five and the Pacific four.

The WSC has 13 teams, the South Coast 11, the Foothill nine, and the Orange Empire and Pacific each have eight.

“That’s why I feel so good about winning our division,” McCarthy said. “This was a tough league.”

Moorpark and Oxnard tied for first place in the Northern Division.

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Ventura women’s Coach Ned Mircetic, fresh off his 300th career victory after the Pirates dismantled Santa Monica, 83-50, in a second-round game on Tuesday, seemed genuinely worried about his team’s opponent tonight.

“Cypress beat [San Diego Mesa] by 30 points,” Mircetic deadpanned.

And the Bulls beat the Clippers. And the Thrashers beat the Islanders. And the Royals and Twins feast on each other.

But that’s Mircetic. He never seems to relax, even when the Pirates put away opponents by halftime.

Realistically, neither Cypress (12-19) nor anyone else is likely to keep Ventura (34-0) from winning the state title next weekend in Stockton.

An assistant for another women’s program in the region said No. 24-seeded Cypress’ victory over No. 8 San Diego Mesa wasn’t a great upset because the Olympians play in a traditionally weak Pacific Coast Conference and are usually overrated.

He’s right.

San Diego Mesa was 23-6, 8-0 in conference play. The other Pacific teams were a combined 28-76.

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No. 4-seeded Canyons (25-6), another perennial women’s power in the state, can reach the Final Eight by defeating No. 5 Irvine Valley (23-8) on Saturday night in Valencia.

The Cougars have won 13 in a row and are 11-0 at home this season.