SOUTHERN SECTION BASKETBALL PLAYOFFS : Artesia’s Quickness Frustrates Kennedy

FULLERTON —  Because the Artesia starting five averages 6 feet 4 in height, Kennedy knew upsetting the top-seeded Pioneers in their semifinal playoff game Tuesday night would be a tall order. But the Fighting Irish apparently had no contingency plan for the lightning that hit them.

Artesia (24-2), the Suburban League champion, demonstrated its superbly quick game even before many in the crowd of 2,000 in Titan Gym at Cal State Fullerton had found a spot to sit, then cruised to a 67-40 victory over Kennedy (19-9), champions of the Garden Grove League.

The Pioneers will play Woodbridge in the Southern Section Division II-A championship game 1 p.m. Saturday at the Sports Arena.

Artesia jumped to a 10-0 lead and held Kennedy scoreless until the 4-minute 7-second mark of the first quarter, and had matters pretty much in hand by the end of the quarter, leading 19-6. The Pioneers led, 31-19, at the half.

“I thought (we’d) be ready in the first quarter, but they just came out with too much firepower,” Kennedy Coach John Mayberry said.

Most of the damage inflicted by Artesia in the first half came courtesy of sophomore guard James Cotton, who scored eight of his 14 points in the first two quarters, and junior forward Jae Park, who had seven of his 14 points.

But it was the tremendous speed of the Pioneers at both ends of the court that continually frustrated Kennedy.

Artesia had little trouble driving on the smaller Kennedy players and seldom had the need to shoot from long range.

The Pioneers effectively neutralized Kennedy’s 6-9 center Jermaine Galloway in the first three quarters, holding him to eight points by having Park and 6-10 center Avondre Jones switch defensively on Galloway every few possessions. Galloway, who averages 24.4 points, finished with a game-high 18 points by scoring 10 in the final quarter.

The Fighting Irish converted on only 28.8% (15 for 52) of their field goals; Artesia made 55.3% of its shots (26 for 47).

Artesia was led by senior guard DeAndre Austin with 15 points. Sophomore forward Charles O’Bannon, brother of UCLA redshirt freshman Ed O’Bannon, contributed 10 points and nine rebounds.