Pacifica Christian boys’ basketball routs La Serna in CIF opener
- Share via
WHITTIER — Things are falling into place for Pacifica Christian Orange County, which opened the CIF Southern Section boys’ basketball playoffs Friday night with a most comprehensive romp and believes that it can do something very special over the next month.
The No. 10-ranked Tritons made a dozen three-pointers and left Del Rio League champion Whittier La Serna little space in which to maneuver, sprinting to a double-digit lead before the first quarter was done and rolling to a 71-34 Division 2AA road rout.
Parker Strauss led Pacifica Christian with 16 points, the last of them on his fourth triple 12 seconds into the second half, and Dylan Godfrey (three three-pointers) and Riyaan Jiwaan (four threes, all in the fourth quarter) added 13 apiece as the Tritons flummoxed their hosts with lightning-quick ball movement, expert passing and — for three quarters, at least — nearly unwavering shot accuracy.
It was the sixth straight win and eighth in nine outings over the past month for Pacifica Christian (16-12).
“We’ve been playing pretty good of late. I think the guys are really starting to gel ...,” said head coach Jeff Berokoff, who guided Pacifica Christian to Southern Section title games in 2017 and 2019. “When guys start believing at the right time, good things really happen. They’re starting to believe and play good basketball.”
The Tritons hit on 17 of 27 first-half attempts — all four of their first-quarter and six of their first 10 tries behind the arc — to put the Lancers away by halftime with a lead of 40-19. Next up, at home Tuesday, is No. 8 Lakewood (21-5), a 64-43 winner over Pasadena Poly.
Win that one, and No. 2 Edison (24-4), should it beat Elsinore (21-5), would await next Friday. That’s most tantalizing for Strauss, an Edison transfer who made his Pacifica Christian debut just before New Year’s, nearly three weeks after the Chargers beat his new team by 15.
“Oh, man, I would love it,” said Strauss, who had missed 10 months with an ankle injury that limited him to two appearances last season. “That’s what we work for, but Tuesday’s our focus right now. We can’t play Friday if we don’t win on Tuesday.”
Strauss and Godfrey played the biggest roles as the Tritons made six of their last seven first-quarter shots — each hitting a pair of threes and Strauss slicing through traffic in the key for another basket just before the buzzer — in a 16-6 run that turned a 4-4 game into a 10-point lead. Both hit another three in the second quarter, which ended with another Strauss drive through the lane, and his three to start the second half served as an exclamation point.
Berokoff credits Strauss’ work ethic — he spends hours shooting before and after practices — and says such exploits are “to be expected” from him.
“Coach just trusts me,” Strauss said. “He gives me some freedom to do what I do, and I thank him for it and love him for it.”
Pacifica Christian’s swarming zone defense limited La Serna (15-13) to 27.5 percent shooting — 6-foot-7 center Axel Perez led the Lancers with 10 points and nine rebounds — and forced 21 turnovers that led to 24 points. Godfrey and Mater Dei transfer Alex Stewart led the Tritons with six rebounds apiece.
“We knew they were going to be bigger than us and faster than us, and then the way they shot,” La Serna coach Marino Angulo said. “I mean, I knew they could shoot, but ... if they keep hitting their shot like that, they’re dangerous.”
The Tritons went cold most of the third quarter, missing 19 in a row after Strauss’ last three — they scored seven points and surrendered six — and then the bench put on a show in the fourth quarter, scoring 24 more as Jiwani hit four times from well behind the arc in a 17-7 start. The onslaught closed with the last three-pointer, from Isaiah Paschal.
The start of something good? They believe it can happen.
“After COVID [stoppages] and transfers [becoming eligible], we’re starting to get it together,” Strauss said. “Every day we’re getting better, and we’re just starting to feel it. Like Coach says, the train is starting to move, starting to get going. You either hop on or hop off.”
CIF Southern Section Division 2A Playoffs
First Round
Pacifica Christian 71, La Serna 34
Pacifica Christian 20 - 20 - 7 - 24 — 71
La Serna 10 - 9 - 6 - 9 — 34
PC — Strauss 16, Godfrey 13, Jiwani 13, Semaan 8, Deal 5, A. Stewart 4, Ogletree 3, Paschal 3, Spillman 2, Hart 2, Bohlinger 1, L. Stewart 1.
3-pt. goals — Strauss 4, Jiwani 4, Godfrey 3, Paschal 1.
Fouled out — None.
Technicals — None.
LS — Perez 10, Rivera 8, Quintero 5, Lewis 4, Ortiz 3, Leija 2, Montano 2.
3-pt. goals — Rivera 1, Ortiz 1.
Fouled out — None.
Technicals — Team.
::
Support our sports coverage by becoming a digital subscriber.
For more sports stories, visit latimes.com/socal/daily-pilot/sports or follow us on Twitter @DailyPilotSport.
All the latest on Orange County from Orange County.
Get our free TimesOC newsletter.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Daily Pilot.
