Burbank at home for CIF first round
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Jim Riggio
BURBANK -- It will be a battle of East Burbank against Westlake
Village when the CIF Southern Section boys’ basketball playoffs begin
tonight.
Burbank and Bellarmine-Jefferson highs, separated by less than a
half-mile -- will square off against Westlake and Oaks Christian highs,
separated by roughly the same distance.
Providence is also in the playoffs, but it has a tough draw with West
Hills Chaminade.
Westlake at Burbank
Burbank (15-10), will host Westlake High at 7:30 p.m. tonight in a CIF
Southern Section Division IIAA wild-card game.
The Bulldogs enter the playoffs on a three-game winning streak, and
are led by four-year varsity player Trent Cleveland, who is averaging 17
points a game. Jason Flowers has also been a threat for the Bulldogs,
averaging 15 points.
“We’re on a high note and we finished up strong,” Burbank Coach Ron
Quarterman said.
The contest will be the first playoff game the Bulldogs have hosted in
three years.
“I figured we’d be going on the road, but I’m not going to complain,”
Quarterman said. “Burbank can be a dangerous team. Nobody gives us any
respect.”
Quarterman noted that his team -- fourth in the Foothill League --
lost five of its six league games by a total of eight points.
“This is a different team,” Quarterman said of his team’s recent play.
“They’ve really surprised me.”
Westlake (11-13), at at-large entry from the Marmonte League, should
match up well with the Bulldogs. The Warriors have 6-foot-7 Arron Boone
at center, along with forward Jonathan Wiley (6-4) and guard Amir Mazarci
(5-8).
Should the Bulldogs win, they will travel to Placentia El Dordo on
Friday for a first-round match. El Dorado is 22-4.
Bell-Jeff at Oaks Christian
Bell-Jeff will visit Oaks Christian -- a second-year program -- at
7:30 p.m. tonight in the first round of the Division IV-A playoffs.
“We deserve a better draw than what we got,” said Bell-Jeff Coach Eli
Essa, whose team was third in the Santa Fe League. “Bell-Jeff has been
ranked in the top 10 all year, and when we lost to [Pasadena] La Salle,
they dropped us.”
Essa said the Guards (14-10) have played a tough schedule, whereas
Oaks Christian hasn’t had to face as many tough obstacles in obtaining
its 22-1 record.
“I don’t think it’s fair to us, or to them,” Essa said. “We’ve only
played two teams in our division and everyone else is in a division
higher.”
The teams have two common opponents. Against La Salle, Oaks Christian
defeated it by four points, while Bell-Jeff lost to the Lancers by two
and five points in league games.
Oaks Christian defeated Salesian, 67-47, and Bell-Jeff defeated their
league rivals, 65-51, and 60-58 in their two league contests.
Tyler Kealey leads Bell-Jeff and averages 16 points and seven assists
a game. Ryan Johnson averages 15 points and 13 rebounds and defensive
stopper Tony Essa has more than five steals a game.
Oaks Christian, which has no seniors and doesn’t play in a league,
starts 6-2 sophomores Alec Avidessian and Mike Hornbuckle, as well as
juniors Aron Cline (6-0), Craig Adams (6-3) and Sean Adams (6-3).
Providence at Chaminade
Providence (12-9), which finished third in the Liberty League,
received a tough draw, as it will be on the road Friday to face
fourth-seeded Chaminade in the first round of the Division IV-AA
playoffs.
The Eagles have three underclassmen who all average in double figures
in points.
Chaminade (20-6) is led by 6-1 sophomore Adrian Aye-Darko, who
averages 14 points a game. Sophomore Marcus Everett (6-1) and junior Dion
Cook (6-4) both average 12 points a game.
Providence is led by junior Harout Messrelian (6-1), who averages 21
points. Teammate Ian Breckenridge-Jackson has a 14-point average.
“We’ve seen Chaminade and they’re a good, fundamentally sound team,”
Providence co-Coach Robert Mena said. “Division IV is stacked as far as
the playoffs go. We’re excited to be in the playoffs and we expect our
guys to step up to the challenge.”
-- Eric Boal contributed to this story.