Boys Basketball, CIF First Round Recap

Posted: Feb 15, 2012 10:15 PM by Andrew Masuda
Updated: Feb 16, 2012 1:00 AM

Six Central Coast boys basketball teams won their CIF playoff openers on Wednesday night to advance into the second round.

The Arroyo Grande High boys won their twelfth-straight game as the Eagles cruised into the second round of the Division 3AAA playoffs with a 63-41 win over visiting La Mirada. The Eagles led 13-6 after the first quarter and 36-13 at the half. Matt Willkomm scored 12 of his 14 points in the first half. Brent VanderVeen led the Eagles with 19 points, 8 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 steals. Gunnar Gomez added 10 points and dished out 6 assists, while Brennan Rivera added 6 points and 5 rebounds. The Eagles improved to 19-8 overall and will play at West Torrance in a second round matchup on Friday night.

The Atascadero boys stormed out to an 11-0 lead and never looked back. The Greyhounds beat visiting Lompoc 63-49 to advance into the second round of Division 3A. The Greyhounds improved to 17-9, while the Braves, who finished fourth in the Los Padres League, ended up 6-17. Hayden Mislavsky led the Hounds with 15 points, while sophomore Robbie Berwick added 12, including two on the first dunk of his career. Atascadero will host Northview on Friday night.

Case Bruton made 7 three-pointers to finish with a team-high 32 points in St. Joseph's 86-32 win over crosstown foe Orcutt Academy in a Division 4A game. The Spartans were making their CIF playoff debut and finished the season 16-5. Cody Degraffenreed led the Spartans with 14 points. The Knights led from start to finish and cruised to the win to advance into the second round. Isaac Murillo and Paul Avila added 13 points apiece for the Knights. They played without head coach Tom Mott, who sat out the game as part of a one game suspension for getting ejected from last Friday's game. Mott will be on the bench Friday when the Knights play at St. Paul.

Connor Woolpert poured in 15 points and Zach Allmon added 13 points and 7 rebounds in Mission Prep's dominant first round win at Nuview Bridge. The Royals cruised 74-27 to improve to 22-5 on the season. The Royals will host a Division 5AA second round game on Friday night at 7 pm against Desert.

The San Luis Obispo Tigers roared into the second round with a 57-35 win at Los Padres League co-champion Cabrillo in a Division 3A first round game. It marked the second time in three years the Tigers have won a first round game at Cabrillo. Chandler Torres led the Tigers with 15 points and 10 rebounds, while Matt Moore added 10 points. Three Conquistadores each scored 9 points to lead Cabrillo. The Conqs have lost their last six first round playoff games. 14-12 San Luis Obispo will host West Torrance on Friday night. The game will be played at 6pm at Morro Bay High School because SLO High is hosting the CIF Individual Wrestling Championships.

For the second-straight year, the Los Padres League champion Morro Bay boys were ousted from the postseason after a first round home defeat. The Pirates fell 71-52 to visiting Chaminade. The Pirates trailed 22-12 after the first quarter and 39-26 at the half. They closed to within 9 points to start the fourth quarter and kept fighting but could not get any closer. Edward Griley led the Pirates with 14 points and 13 rebounds. Scott Milligan added another double-double with 12 points and 12 rebounds. Morro Bay finished the season 17-10 overall. Chaminade was led by Jaron Martin, who scored a game-high 25 points, while Jack Williams added 19.

The Nipomo boys trailed 29-4 after the first quarter and 47-11 at the half and never recovered. The Titans lost their first round game 82-29 at Pacific Hills, the top seed in Division 4A. Nipomo's season ended with an 8-20 overall record. The Titans fell to 0-4 all-time in playoff games. Ryan McNeil led the TItans with 10 points.

The Templeton boys trailed 14-10 late in the first quarter, but third seeded Bishop Montgomery pulled away for good. The Eagles lost their Division 4AA game 66-26. Andy Garretson led the Eagles with 7 points and Evan Peterson added 6. Templeton's season ended with an 11-15 overall record. The Eagles return several key players next year in search of their first playoff win since 2010.

Coast Union was outscored 26-3 in the second half and went scoreless in the fourth quarter in its 45-32 first round home loss to Lancaster Baptist. The Broncos led 29-19 at halftime, but trailed 34-32 after the third quarter and could not manage to get any closer. After the first round Division 5 defeat, the Broncos finished the season, one of the best in recent memory, with a 14-6 overall record. Quentin Raethke led the Broncos with 14 points, while Angel Avina added 12 for Coast.

North County Christian also saw its season come to an end. The Crusaders lost a home game to Eastside Christian, 52-36. The first round Division 6 game was controlled by the road team from the start. Eastside Christian was ahead 33-18 at the half and 51-24 after three quarters. Senior Daniel Katches led the Crusaders with 10 points and 11 rebounds.

Elsewhere in Division 6, Valley Christian beat Mesrobian 70-45 and the Lions will host a second round game against Bethel Baptist on Friday.

The Righetti boys, seeded 6th in Division 2A, will host La Serna in a first round game on Friday night as well. The Warriors are 21-4 after their second place finish in the PAC-7 League. The Lancers enter 13-13 overall.