Boys’ 1-A Semifinal : Whittier Christian in Title Game

Whittier Christian High School scored another lopsided victory in the Southern Section 1-A basketball playoffs Tuesday night and set up a long-anticipated rematch with Crossroads for the title.

The Heralds opened an 18-4 lead in the first quarter en route to their 26th consecutive victory of the season, a 76-55 semifinal triumph over Chadwick in front of 1,200 in Sonora High’s gymnasium in La Habra.

Crossroads, the defending 1-A champion, advanced by defeating Harvard, 79-55. The victory set up a rematch Saturday at the Sports Arena that Whittier Christian’s coach, Bill Cuccia, has been hoping for all season. Last year, Crossroads handed Whittier Christian its only loss of the season, 70-61, in the title game.

“For the last two weeks, I’ve tried to keep Crossroads out of my mind and concentrate on the game at hand,” Cuccia said. “But every night when I go to bed, I’m thinking about Crossroads.

“I’m just glad to be back in the arena and to get another chance. I feel like a burden is off our shoulders because everyone expected us to be back in the title game.”

And why not? The Heralds (26-1) have beaten three playoff opponents by an average margin of 19.6 points and are 52-2 during the past two seasons. Only Mater Dei (56-2) has a better record among Orange County schools during the same period.

Chadwick (17-8) was simply no competition for the Heralds. Forward Erik Martin scored 12 of his game-high 28 points in the second quarter to give Whittier Christian a 30-22 lead at halftime, and then the Heralds turned the game into a rout.

Whittier Christian opened a 47-26 lead with 3:41 remaining in the third quarter when forward Chris Syke scored on a driving layup. By then, it was time to start booking the buses for the arena.

Martin finished with 28 points, 19 rebounds and 6 blocked shots. Martin, a junior who has averaged 22.6 points per game in the postseason tournament, said he also had a problem keeping Crossroads off his mind.

“All weekend long, I was thinking about Crossroads,” he said. “I had my mind set on getting back to the arena. I knew we had one more team to beat to get there, so I started concentrating on Chadwick.

“Our coach said their center (Fred Clark) was a little slow inside, so every time I got the ball, I went to the hole. This was my best game of the year.”

Tom Maier, Chadwick coach, said his team lost to Crossroads by 30 points earlier this season. He was asked to predict who would win Saturday’s game, which will be played at 10:30 a.m.

“Both teams deserve to be there,” he said. “I have to pick Crossroads. They’ve got great depth and can go eight or nine deep. But it will be interesting to see what Martin will do against them. He’s a real force inside.”