Century League Roundup : Santa Ana Uses Its Speed to Flatten Foothill, 60-43

Foothill High School entered the 1987-88 basketball season with enough optimism to fill a gymnasium after the Knights won 24 games last summer, including victories over the likes of Mater Dei, Capistrano Valley, Lakewood and Long Beach Poly.

But somewhere between the heat of last summer and these cold winter nights, Foothill has lost the winning formula.

The Knights, perhaps expecting an endless summer, fell flat on their faces Friday night in a 60-43 loss to host Santa Ana.

Granted, two-time defending champion Santa Ana is the favorite to win the Century League, but Foothill was expected to be the Saints’ most serious challenger. Instead, Foothill (8-6, 1-1) was never in the ballgame and was ultimately swept away by the quicker Saints.

Santa Ana (15-3, 2-0) opened a 36-17 lead at halftime with a tenacious, man-to-man defense and made it look easy. The closest Foothill could get in the second half was 11 points.

“Yes, the game was very disappointing when you consider we had prepared the whole year for this game,” said Jim Reames, Foothill coach. “Santa Ana’s defense was very good. They took us out of our offense early.

“I thought we would be pretty even with them, but it was obvious we’re not competitive with Santa Ana. They’re awfully quick.”

Santa Ana opened a 10-4 lead in the first quarter and then extended its advantage to 21-8 early in the second quarter when center Bobby Joyce scored on a rousing dunk. The play signaled the beginning of the rout as Santa Ana limited Foothill to 17 points in the first half.

“I looked up at the scoreboard with about three minutes left in the first half and they only had 11 points,” said Greg Coombs, Santa Ana coach. “I thought we played pretty well in the first half.

“We had good practices this week and rose to the occasion. The important thing will be to play with the same intensity in the rest of the league games. I certainly thought it would be a lot closer than 17 points.”

So did Reames. Foothill was coming off a big victory at Santa Ana Valley in its league opener, but it’s difficult to win when only one player (Dan Abel) scores more than eight points. Abel, the only Knight player who looked good, finished with 12.

Greg Reiber, usually the Knights’ top player, struggled to get five points and was in foul trouble early in the third quarter. Reiber has been inconsistent most of the season, which is a big reason for Foothill’s up-and-down play.

Rusty Van Cleave, the Knights’ outside threat, wasn’t a factor. He missed four three-point attempts in the first quarter and made only 1 of 6 three-pointers on the game.

“We thought it was important to contain Van Cleave and not allow him open shots like he usually gets,” Coombs said. “We did a good job on Reiber, but Abel played very well.”

Santa Ana shot 55% from the field (27 of 49). Joyce scored 22 points and had 10 rebounds, and guard Leo Leon added 10 points and 8 rebounds.

Santa Ana Valley 79, Villa Park 66--Roshawn Lacy scored a game-high 19 points to lead Santa Ana Valley at Villa Park. Santa Ana Valley (9-7, 1-1) used a pressing defense to open a 22-15 lead at the end of the first quarter. But Villa Park rallied in the second quarter and cut the Falcons’ lead to 35-32. Steve Calhun scored 12 and Brett Beale 17 for Santa Ana Valley.

Roger Blanstine scored 18 points, Steve Wadrip 15 and Mark McPhearson 15 for Villa Park (2-12, 0-2).