4-A Division : John W. North Beats Saddleback : Walton Struggles for 23 Points as Roadrunners’ Fall, 77-55

Saddleback High School’s Bryant Walton came into Friday night’s opening-round game of the CIF Southern Section 4-A playoffs against John W. North of Riverside advertised as one of the premier guards in the state, but the senior wound up playing a cameo role in his final prep game.

North guard Robby Washington stole the spotlight with 26 points to lead the Huskies to their 24th consecutive win, a 77-55 romp in front of a capacity crowd in Riverside.

Washington made 13 of 20 shots, most of them from the 18-25 foot range, to overshadow a 23-point performance by Walton. The six-foot guard also received strong support from teammates Andy Johnson and Kenny Walker, who combined for 31 points.

But the biggest contribution in the Huskies’ win came from forward Scott Schanz. It was Schanz who hounded Walton most of the game in North’s box-and-one defense that was especially devised by Huskie Coach Mike Bartee to contain Walton.

Walton came into the game with a 24.3 scoring average and was averaging 56% from the field. He had to work hard to make 8 of 21 field-goal attempts against Schanz.

“I thought Scott’s defense against Walton was the key to the game,” Bartee said. “Scott may not be my best defensive player, but he’s my smartest player. I gave him the assignment, and he took pride in holding Walton under his average.

“He really rose to the occasion. If Bryant Walton isn’t the best player in the CIF 4-A, I’m afraid to see who is. He is a great player.”

Walton had little help from his teammates as the Roadrunners never led. Center Joe Deal was the only other Saddleback player to finish in double figures with 10 points, but he struggled in every phase of the game.

“We were flat,” said Pat Quinn, Saddleback coach. “We didn’t do anything well. We couldn’t shoot free throws, we didn’t rebound, and we backed off any time they pressured us.

“Anyone could see the difference in the two teams. They were very confident. Winning 24 straight games will do that for a team. We were flat and continually looked to Bryant to carry us through the game.”

It really wasn’t much of a game. The teams had met in the Irvine Tournament two months ago with North pulling out a 58-57 win on a last-second shot. The Huskies trailed by 16 points in that game.

The rematch was a mismatch. The Huskies opened a 9-2 lead, stretched it to 27-14 with three minutes remaining in the first half on an outside shot by Washington and coasted in the second half.

North extended its lead to 37-23 with 6:40 remaining in the third quarter on another long shot by Washington, and then the Huskies made 8 of 10 free-throw attempts in the last quarter to seal the win.

North (26-1) made 34 of 54 field-goal attempts and 9 of 12 free throws. Saddleback, which finished the season at 14-13, hit 23 of 58 field-goal attempts and 9 of 19 foul shots.