HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL SOUTHERN SECTION BOYS’ CHAMPIONSHIPS : Santa Barbara Wins Division I-A

Cherokee Parks scored a game-high 19 points, but Santa Barbara defeated his Huntington Beach Marina team, 50-49, in the CIF Southern Section I-A Division championship game Saturday night at the Sports Arena.

With Marina (19-11) trailing, 48-46, Parks--a 6-foot-11 center bound for Duke University--had the ball 15 feet from the basket with 24 seconds remaining. Instead of shooting, he passed the ball to teammate Sean Haselrig, who was then called for traveling.

Santa Barbara (26-5) scored on Dave Palmer’s breaking layup to go ahead, 50-46. Marina’s Mike Carreon hit a three-point basket with three seconds remaining, but the Dons ran the clock out.

“If I would have taken the shot, it would have been off-balance,” Parks said. “So I passed it off. I just didn’t feel good about taking the shot then. It was a judgment call.”