Chino Hills High basketball has become the greatest road show hitting Southern California since . . . the Rolling Stones? Bruce Springsteen? The Harlem Globetrotters?
As the venues and games get bigger, the crowds
and media interest keep increasing. It reached the point this past weekend that
the CIF suspended ticket sales for Saturday's state regional finals at the
Pyramid in Long Beach to leave open the possibility of implementing a
contingency plan should the unbeaten Huskies make it to the Southern California
Open Division final.
Well, it has happened.
Before a sold-out crowd of more than 2,800 at
Ontario Colony High, the No. 1-ranked team in America rolled to its 33rd
consecutive victory, an 82-62 triumph over El Cajon Foothills Christian on
Tuesday night. The Huskies will play Torrance Bishop Montgomery, a 72-56 winner
over San Diego Cathedral Catholic.
In an effort to deal with the continuing
stampede of Chino Hills fans, the CIF has moved up the start of the six
championship games scheduled at the Pyramid from 10 a.m. to 9 a.m. and will
require a separate ticket for the Chino Hills-Bishop Montgomery game scheduled
for 8:30 p.m. The arena will be cleared after the 5 p.m. Open Division girls'
final.
"I never thought it was going to be this
crazy," Chino Hills Coach Steve Baik said of the Huskies' season.
"What they are doing is special."
UCLA Coach Steve Alford had a front-row seat
to watch four UCLA commits on the court.
"It's a great environment," Alford
said.
Alford might want to try to get a fifth UCLA
commitment in 6-foot-9 Chino Hills freshman Onyeka Okongwu, who contributed 19
points and 11 rebounds and frustrated 6-10 UCLA recruit T.J. Leaf of Foothills
Christian at times in the first half.
"He had a big-boy game," Baik said.
"O was huge."
Leaf finished with 36 points and ended his
high school career with 3,022 points.
"He's the best player I've played against
this season," Okongwu said.
UCLA-bound Lonzo Ball struggled with his
shooting but still finished with 23 points. Eli Scott had 19 points.
Ball and Scott each started the fourth quarter
with four fouls. Baik left them in the game, and Chino Hills quickly extended a
14-point lead.
"We've been playing in situations like
this all year," Baik said. "We trust them to make the right
decisions."
Ball will get a chance to make amends for his
worst game of the season. He made only two of 21 shots in a 71-67 victory over
Bishop Montgomery on Jan. 30.
"I'll be ready to go," he said.
Bishop Montgomery got 26 points from sophomore
David Singleton in its win over Cathedral Catholic.
In Division I, Morgan Means made two free
throws with 1.8 seconds left to give Redondo a 63-62 win over Harbor City
Narbonne. Encino Crespi defeated San Diego St. Augustine, 68-55, as De'Anthony
Melton scored 26 points.
Follow Eric Sondheimer on
Twitter @LATSondheimer
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