Michigan recruit slows down CVC boys

Published online on Thursday, Mar. 12, 2009

Darius Morris showed Central Valley Christian High why he's taking his game to perennial college basketball power Michigan next season.

The 6-foot-4 senior guard scored 12 of his 24 points in the third quarter to help Division V top-seeded Windward-Los Angeles break open a close game and pull away from the No. 4 Cavaliers for an 80-67 victory Thursday in a semifinal of the CIF Southern California Regional playoffs.

The Wildcats (27-6) held a slim 34-29 lead at halftime against the Central Section champion Cavaliers (28-5) before Morris took over. Morris' flurry helped Windward extend its lead to 61-46 at the end of the third quarter. He scored four of Windward's first six points of the fourth quarter to push the lead to 66-46.

CVC, which had won its previous 17 games, would not recover.

Lance Reeves helped keep the Cavaliers close in the first half by making all six of his 3-point attempts, including a three-quarter-court shot at the first quarter buzzer. The four-year starter for CVC finished with 28 points. Anthony Vander Schaaf added 11 for the Cavaliers, who set a school record for wins this season.

"They were a tough matchup," CVC assistant Matt Fikkert said. "They just funneled everything into the middle and got a lot of blocks on us. We were pretty proud of how we hung with them though. Our kids played hard and didn't quit."

Windward, which counts actor Denzel Washington's son, Malcolm, among its starters, also received 19 points from 6-10 UCLA recruit Anthony Stover.

Bellarmine-Jefferson 66, Fresno Christian 59

Paige Armstrong-Maltos scored 14 points and Larissa Hensley added 13, but Fresno Christian couldn't erase an early double-digit deficit in the Division V CIF Southern California Regional playoffs.

Rishonda Napier had a game-high 21 points for top-seeded Bellarmine, which led by 12 points early in the second quarter.

Fresno Christian (22-7) made a fourth-quarter run to trim the deficit to four points before Bellarmine put the game away.

"We went in there to win," Eagles coach Josh Tosland said. "We didn't go in there just to play the top team in the state. We would've liked to move forward, but I'm real proud of the girls' effort."

Katie White added 12 points for Fresno Christian.

Brea Olinda-Brea 73, Hanford 40

The Bullpups fell into an early hole, trailing 41-18 at halftime, and never recovered against the second-seeded team in the Division II CIF Southern Regional playoffs.

Third-seeded Hanford ended its season at 26-5 following its second loss to the Orange County power in five weeks.

-In other games involving Central Section teams, No. 4 Bakersfield Christian lost to top-seeded Bishop Montgomery-Torrance 76-52 in the Division IV semifinals.