Katella Overwhelms Brea Olinda : Division II-A Boys’ Basketball: Knights take command at the start to roll over the Wildcats, 68-38.

After 29 years, Katella Coach Tom Danley may be ready to roll with it. He’ll take what comes, as long he gets this result.

Tuesday was another grab-bag kind of night for the Knights. They wasted little time in shoving aside Brea Olinda, 68-38, and moving on to Friday’s Southern Section II-A quarterfinals.

This was a Brea Olinda team that took Katella to the wire, losing by four, earlier this season. But this was not the same Katella team.

“I just don’t know what to expect from this team,” Danley said. “Tonight, they didn’t want to get behind early, so they took control fast. They’re competitors. They’re crazy.”

A kind of infectious insanity.

The Knights went on a 13-0 run to take a 21-7 lead early in the second quarter. The Wildcats were a distant memory from then on.

Mike Pahl and LaByron Clayton dominated the inside. Carlos Romero and Jacy Armbruster shut down the perimeter. By halftime, it was 34-15.

“I don’t think people have begun to realize how good we can be,” Danley said. “But I think the best is yet to come.”

It’d better be, as the Knights face third-seeded Inglewood, led by 6-foot-6 Paul Pierce, on Friday.

Pierce, who has signed with Kansas, scored 36 points in a 72-49 victory over Ridgecrest Burroughs Tuesday.

But the Knights were too busy relishing the moment to worry about Pierce or Inglewood. This is as far as a Katella team has advanced since 1986, when the Knights reached the semifinals.

“They have a lot of tradition here at Katella, but we’re writing our own story,” Pahl said.

Pahl, a 6-8 center, had a big part. He finished with 19 points, 17 rebounds and four blocks. His size was a problem for the Wildcats from the start. Pahl had 11 points in the first half, scoring four baskets on lobs and another off a rebound.

“They weren’t boxing me out very well,” Pahl said. “If they were going to give it to me, I was going to take it.”

He wasn’t the only one. Clayton scored 22 points, making 10 of 11 shots.

What room Pahl left inside, Clayton filled. He had three dunks, seven rebounds and four blocks--three in the first five minutes.

Behind Pahl-Clayton, the Knights shot 60%. Armbruster scored 10 points and Romero nine. They also swarmed to the ball on defense, forcing the Wildcats to take difficult shots.

Brea Olinda shot 22%, making only 14 of 64 shots.

“The clue is, the kids wanted to get out in front,” Danley said. “I loved the way we played in the first half. Then we survived the second half.”

While their coach rolled with it.