Top-seeded Dominguez Towers Over Brea, 66-42

Compton Dominguez did not waste any time setting the tone against Brea Olinda in the Southern Section Division II-AA boys’ championship game Saturday at the Arrowhead Pond.

Tyson Chandler, the Dons’ 7-foot junior center, blocked Brea Olinda’s first shot.

Nothing unusual about that except that Ryan Wilber’s attempt was from 22 feet.

And so it went for Brea Olinda in a 66-42 loss to the team ranked No. 1 in the nation by one publication.

Dominguez (31-2), the defending Division II state champion, won its sixth consecutive section title.

“They’re tough,” Brea Coach Bob Terry said. “They’ve got it all.”

Brea (24-7) had advanced to its first championship game on the strength of its perimeter shooting. But that facet of the Wildcats’ attack was almost completely shut down by the taller, quicker Dons.

Consider:

* Chase Ulicny’s basket that pulled Brea to within 5-2 in the first few minutes was the Wildcats’ only field goal of the first quarter.

* Brea made only two shots in the second quarter and was three for 21 in the first half, which left the Wildcats trailing, 31-12, at halftime.

* Wilber, Landon Lewis and Ryan Moore--Brea’s top three shooters--combined to make four of 29 field-goal attempts.

* The Wildcats made only one of 15 three-point shots.

* Dominguez blocked 10 shots and had 10 steals.

“They were constantly in our face,” said Moore, who was one for six from the field and finished with seven points. “We never got an open shot.”

Brea had hoped to offset the Dons’ size by playing a tight zone defense to contain Chandler and power forward Keith Brooks and take away drives to the basket by Dominguez’s guards.

“Our game plan was to make them beat us outside,” Terry said.

Dominguez guard Steve Moore did just that, making all five of his three-point shots en route to a game-high 19 points.

Chandler finished with 13 points, six rebounds and six blocks.

Brea mustered one minor threat in the third quarter.

Trailing, 36-14, Brea scored 10 unanswered points on a free throw by Ryan Moore, a basket by Kirk Reimer, a three-pointer by Lewis, a goaltending call against Chandler and a driving layup by Ulicny.

Brea had cut the deficit to 36-24 with 3:30 left in the quarter.

“We felt we were on the verge,” Ryan Moore said. “We just kept playing hard hoping we would get some breaks.”

But Dominguez erased all hope by finishing the quarter with a 15-O run.

Brea did not score again until Wilber, who had a team-high 10 points, made two free throws to make the score 59-26 with 5:54 left in the game.

“They’re that good,” Terry said. “You look up at the scoreboard and you’re down by 12, and then it seems like a minute goes by and you’re down 30.”

Brea opens play in the Southern California regional of the state tournament Tuesday. Pairings will be announced today.

“I hope we can make a little run in the state tournament,” Terry said.