Santa Ana Will Try to Keep Home Fire Burning

History will be on Santa Ana’s side when the Dons host Los Angeles Valley at 7:30 p.m. tonight in the Southern California regional final, with a berth in the men’s basketball state tournament on the line.

Since the current playoff format went into effect in 1987, the Dons are 18-0 at home, including 3-0 in regional finals. The Dons, who are 1-10 on the road in the playoffs, won state titles in 1990 and 1991.

“I like that this game is at home,” Santa Ana Coach Ray Rodriguez said, recalling that the Dons lost regional finals at Cerritos (1992) and Bakersfield (1998). “We shoot the ball pretty well here.”

Santa Ana is led by freshman forward Zac Fray and sophomore forward Greg Gray, who were co-most valuable players in the Orange Empire Conference. The Dons also have a solid group of players overall, including sophomore guard Mark Wulfemeyer, who is finishing the season strong. Wulfemeyer scored a career-high 36 points in a first-round victory over East Los Angeles and had 25 in a second-round victory over MiraCosta. Fray had a career-high 33 in the victory over MiraCosta.

“We just need to keep playing hard and stay together,” Fray said when asked what it would take for the Dons to reach the state tournament that startsThursday in Stockton.

L.A. Valley (25-8) is seeded sixth in Southern California and will have a height advantage over the Dons.

The Monarchs are led by guard Felix Long, the Western State Conference player of the year, who averages 15 points. Up front they have 6-9 Wayne Huff, 6-6 Jerrohn Jordan and 6-6 Michael Crawford.

In the other regional finals: No. 9 Glendale is at No. 1 L.A. City, No. 5 Moorpark is at No. 4 Cerritos and No. 15 Bakersfield is at No. 7 Riverside.

THIRD TIME AROUND

The Santa Ana women, seeded second in Southern California, will host Riverside at 5:30 p.m. today for a berth in the state tournament.

The Dons (29-3) will be trying to beat their Orange Empire Conference rival for the third time this season. The two previous victories were emblematic of the season Santa Ana has had.

Sophomore guard Atari Parker had 26 points in an 84-79 victory on Jan. 14, then scored 18 in an 84-64 victory on Feb. 9. Sophomore forward Stephanie Patten, who would have been the most valuable player in the conference if not for Parker, had 45 points and 23 rebounds in the two victories.

“The third time around is always hard,” Santa Ana Coach Jack Single said, “but I would rather be playing than not playing.”

Irvine Valley (24-8) is seeking its second appearance in the state tournament under second-year coach Julie Hanks. The No. 5 Lasers have won seven in a row and play at No. 4 Canyons (25-6) at 7 tonight.

The women’s state tournament starts Thursday at San Joaquin Delta College in Stockton.