In a flash, Ocean View runs past Magnolia

Mike Sciacca, Independent

Jim Harris warned about the explosiveness of his Ocean View High

boys basketball team, and it took but a fourth quarter flash of

brilliance by the Seahawks to finish off visiting Magnolia Friday in the

quarterfinal round of the CIF Southern Section Division II-A playoffs.

Second-seeded Ocean View overcame a three-point deficit at the outset of

the fourth quarter by piecing together an incredible 21-0 down the

stretch to run away with a 52-41 victory at Marina High.

Magnolia, the No. 2 team out of the Orange League, had opened up a 34-31

lead on its opening possession of the final period when forward Jacob

Davis scored off a nice feed from Geoffrey Clayton, which sent the

Sentinel faithful into a frenzy with 7:46 to play.

But, as it turned out, there would be no more cheering from the Magnolia

side of the court for the next six-plus minutes.

That’s when the storm blew in, and it blew the game wide open.

“That was an incredible run we put together, but I thought it took to

long for us to have one,” said Ocean View Coach Jim Harris, whose

Seahawks advanced to the semifinal round for the third consecutive year.

. “I’ve always said that we are a very explosive team when we get going,

and the guys showed bits of that tonight.”

Golden West League champion Ocean View (28-2) saves its best for last,

but came up with it just in time to squelch a talented Magnolia squad

that had its season end at 24-6.

The Sentinels might have built on that 34-31 fourth quarter lead had

Vincent Bryant’s three-point shot dropped, instead of rolling nearly all

the way down the cylinder before popping out. Ocean View got the bounce

it needed on its ensuing possession when Torin Beeler’s lay in danced

around the rim and finally fell through, giving the Seahawks a lead it

wouldn’t relinquish, 35-34.

That basket was the start of an improbable 6:18 of play, where Ocean View

could do no wrong, and Magnolia could not find the basket.

“I thought everybody we put on the court really came through in the

second half,” Harris said. “That whole first half, we weren’t very alert.

We just stood around, waiting for things to happen. We finally became the

aggressors in the second half -- and none too soon.”

Beeler, who dominated the boards in the fourth quarter, came up with a

steal under the Magnolia basket, which led to two Jeremiah Bell free

throws and a 37-34 lead with five minutes remaining. Marques Crane

completed a three-point play following a Sentinel turnover, Bell dropped

in a high bank off the glass, and then Crane scored in the lane to boost

Ocean View into a 10-point cushion, 44-34.

The 21-0 run was a thing of beauty, crowned by an acrobatic jumper along

the baseline by Ryan Westbrook, who was fouled and hit the ensuing free

throw, and a thunderous slam dunk by Crane, who stole the ball from

Clayton near midcourt and went in for an uncontested score.

The dunk put Ocean View on top, 52-34, with 1:25 to play, but Crane also

was called for a technical for hanging onto the rim. Clayton would sink a

pair of free throws to end Magnolia’s drought, but by then, it was too

late for the Sentinels.

Ocean View freshman Casey Ortiz, coming in off the bench, came up with

some key steals in the final period, and also hit two big three-point

shots in the opening half, the last of which he scored just five seconds

before the buzzer to give the Seahawks a 22-16 lead at the break.

“Casey played his best game of the year,” Harris said. “He made some big

shots and I thought he did a great job on defense.”

Westbrook scored Ocean View’s first five points of the game and kept the

Seahawks close to Magnolia, which bolted to a 10-3 lead with five minutes

gone. But the 6-foot-3 senior guard’s biggest contribution of the night

was his ability to shut down Clayton, Magnolia’s leading scorer at 18

points per game.

Clayton did finish with 17 points, but seven of those came in the game’s

final 1:25, with Ocean View well in control.

“Ryan did a great job of negating Clayton,” Harris said of Westbrook. “He

put great defensive pressure on him all night, and I thought that was a

big key to this ballgame. I thought his play, and the big time job of

Neal Smith on the boards, were big factors in our defense.”

When Ortiz stuffed a Stia Asoau jumper in the key and grabbed the loose

ball, the play led to Beeler’s first basket of the game and Ocean View’s

first double digit lead, 28-18, with 4:23 to go in the third period. But

Magnolia ended the quarter on a 14-3 tear, which was highlighted by an

amazing shot by Bryant.

The 6-2 guard grabbed a deflected pass near the Ocean View basket, then

raced down court with the ball. As he went to the basket, Bryant spun

around, reversed direction, then backhanded a soft shot off the glass and

into the net for a 30-29 Magnolia lead.

Bryant went on to finish with 12 points.

The Sentinels, on Davis’ garbage basket just before the buzzer, took a

32-31 lead heading into the fourth quarter of play.

Westbrook led Ocean View with 13 points, and Crane and Bell each had 12

points.

In next week’s semifinal round, Ocean View will meet the winner of

Fridays’ Mayfair-Bolsa Grande game, which was delayed and didn’t tip off

until 8:30 p.m. at Bellflower High.