Bay League Notebook: It's Not Over Yet

Imagine the heartbreak of a one-point loss that ends a 26-game winning streak in the semifinals of the CIF boys basketball playoffs. Your dream season is over, your hopes for a glorious CIF championship are dashed and now all that’s left is putting a great season into perspective.

Now imagine living with those thoughts through a long weekend of reflection. There’s got to be sadness that it’s all over a game too soon, regret from coming so close. All of that is mixed with the pride of knowing only one team can go all the way and you have just participated in the greatest boys basketball season in the history of your school.

Now imagine you return to school on Monday ready for a season-ending meeting in the gym. Only before you get there you are told your season is not over after all!     

That is exactly what happened to Peninsula High after it lost last Friday to Mayfair, 61-59, in the semifinals of the Division 2A playoffs at Cerritos High. By Monday, the CIF had extended an at-large bid to Peninsula to participate in the Division 2 State playoffs starting Tuesday, March 8.

“It was a weird weekend,” Peninsula Coach Jim Quick said Wednesday. “I thought things were over on Friday. I took ‘em out to breakfast for a last team meal. Then Monday morning I got a call from our AD telling me ‘get your paperwork in, you’re going to state.'”

Quick wasted no time getting the players together to deliver the news.

“We had no idea this was coming. I told ‘em at lunch ‘we’re going to state.’” Quick said. “They were shocked, excited, everything you might expect.”

A perennial power like Westchester High, for example, might have anticipated the state bid. But Peninsula has never gone to state. No one in the program considered that the Panthers’ remarkable record (28-2) and No. 1 ranking in CIF-2A might lead to an at-large bid.

“It’s a little bit of an emotional ride,” Quick said. “Saturday we’re coming down. Sunday you see ‘em all again, expecting to collect their uniforms on Monday.

“Then everything changes.”

The Panthers will find out this weekend who and where they will play. The brackets will be filled in after the division championship games are played this weekend throughout the state.

Continuing their season under these circumstances is exciting, of course. It is also a daunting challenge, having to regroup and not play a game or two while their likely opponent stays sharp in the CIF finals.

“It’s not going to be easy, not at all,” Quick said. “But we’ve got great kids. The rest will do them some good. We’ve got plenty of time to practice and sharpen up for the next game.”

If anyone can pull this off, it’s the Panthers. Star senior forward Reese Morgan is a great leader and stays on an even keel. He’ll be ready for the defense he’ll face. Senior guard Andrew Menard is also a mature leader. And junior Sam Borst-Smith has grown up a lot during the course of 30 games.

Morgan, by the way, did not come up short against Mayfair. He delivered a great performance under pressure, recording 35 points on 50 percent shooting and grabbing eight rebounds.

“I couldn’t ask for more from Reese,” Quick said. “It was just one of those games where things didn’t go our way at the finish. It only happened twice all season.”       

Through the CIF playoffs, that is.

ANOTHER GREAT SEASON -- Like Peninsula’s boys basketball team, Palos Verdes’ girls soccer team came up a hair short in its CIF semifinal, losing at Buena, 1-0, in their CIF Division 2 playoff game. That loss on Tuesday followed a thrilling victory in the quarterfinals a week ago. The Sea Kings won a shootout, 4-3, after 100 minutes of soccer produced a 0-0 tie.

Palos Verdes’ Bay League champions finished the season 21-4-3.

Coach Sean Lockhart guided the Sea Kings to the semifinals for the first time in his career.

Kudos to the Sea Kings, who had to beat a pretty darn good Peninsula team just to win Bay League. Stanford-bound Haley Rosen, Connors, defender Haley Nakata were among the leaders, but perhaps nothing summed up PV’s spirit better than Christy Poropat. She suffered a broken clavicle in the first round and then entered the semifinal in the final five minutes in a desperate attempt to help PV score a tying goal.

How can you ask for more than that?

HARBOR SUCCESS STORY -- Harbor College’s men’s basketball team enjoyed a breakthrough season this year, winning a division title for the first time in 30 years and reaching the semifinals of the Southern California Regionals by upsetting third-seeded Santa Monica College.

The Seahawks’ season came to a frustrating end Wednesday at Mt. San Jacinto College, where a controversial official’s call in the final two seconds cost them a one-point victory. But that shouldn’t diminish what was a joyous and meaningful season for long-suffering Harbor.

One of the key players in their season was sophomore forward Kevin Dawson, a 6-foot-5 sophomore from Redondo High.

“He’s our glue,” Coach Tony Carter-Loza said. “He does a little bit of everything. Whatever it takes, he does it, whether it’s scoring, rebounding, making the right pass or playing good team defense.”

Dawson is one of those special second-chance stories that represents all that is good about sports at the community college level. He sat out a season after high school and attended the University of San Francisco, only to decide to give basketball another shot at Harbor College.

Now, the young man who didn’t have an athletic scholarship at USF has one for San Diego Christian, an NAIA school. And he’s making the most of a chance that would not have been there if it weren’t for the welcoming arms extended by Harbor’s coaches.

“It’s been a great experience these two years at Harbor,” said Dawson, who still stays in close touch with his Redondo buddies. “I’ve learned a lot about life playing with some of the older guys here at Harbor and I think I’ve helped them on the basketball court.”

Dawson’s importance was made perfectly clear during the upset win at SMC. Playing under control but with great smarts, he scored 20 points, handed out five assists, grabbed five rebounds and came up with two steals in a 71-66 victory.        

“We’re starting a new tradition at Harbor,” Dawson said. “This isn’t the end of the old ways, it’s the start of a new way where people look to Harbor as a quality program.”

With El Camino suffering through a tough season, this could be a year where Harbor builds an edge in local recruiting. Regardless, Dawson has left his mark.      

“I came here too late to put my stamp on this team last year,” Dawson said, “but I think I’ve helped this team have a good season.”

There is no doubt about that.

MIRA COSTA’S CHALLENGE -- Winter might not be officially over for 17 more days, but spring has sprung for the area’s four Bay League schools. Spring sports, that is.

At Mira Costa High, that means it’s time for boys volleyball to take center stage. And there is no doubt the Mustangs have shined brighter than almost anybody when it comes to volleyball. The history page on the Costa Volleyball website sums up the program’s tradition of excellence: “In our 50 year history, no team sport has mirrored the culture and fabric of our small beach community of Manhattan Beach, more than Mira Costa volleyball. Unparalleled in its lore, Mira Costa has had more volleyball players compete in (NCAA) Division One volleyball and more players participate on the Pro Beach Volleyball Tour than any other high school in the country.”

Mira Costa coach Mike Ninnis didn’t write those words, but he’s proud to be part of the tradition.

“It’s a tremendous thing to be part of,” he said Thursday. “There is a strong tradition, almost like a fraternity here. You have guys hang out 25 years after they played, who still talk about winning league or CIF.

“Volleyball is growing in popularity, but there’s a fairly small list of schools that have been good over the long haul.”

Mira Costa, which was a CIF runner-up last year, opens its season Friday night at Santa Barbara — another volleyball power. Only two starters return from last year’s power, senior outside hitter D.J. White and senior libero Tony Ensbury. Ninnis also expects strong seasons from, among others, junior outside hitter Chris Orenic, center Kameron Bain and Jake Miller.

“We graduated the lion’s share of last year’s squad, so we are inexperienced on the varsity level,” Ninnis said. “But we’re a spirited and energetic group. We’ll have to see how it plays out at this point.”

The Mustangs are ranked No. 2 in the CIF’s top division, but Ninnis puts no credence into that.

“That’s based on nothing,” he said. “I think they just took a look last year’s final rankings. We lost in the finals to Loyola. We still have to earn that ranking this year.”

After the Santa Barbara opener, which Ninnis called “a good awakening,” the Mustangs will take part in the Best of the West Tournament at Poway High.

“That is always the best preseason tournament. The best teams are there,” Ninnis said.

The tradition Mira Costa-Redondo rivalry should be even more intense this season. Redondo has an experienced team and could be significantly improved.            

“They should be very competitive this year,” Ninnis said. “I would say this year the rivalry will be better than most.”