SportsHubLA

This was a banner weekend for Orange County basketball, showing off the great range of talent and providing for some great moments, from NCAA tourney berths to high school titles.  To wit:

The Big West Title game between UC-Irvine and Cal-State Fullerton, held at the Anaheim Convention Center, ended up being the Battle of Orange County for the entire nation to see.  Or at least half. Because the WAC Championship game between Boise State and New Mexico State went into three overtimes, ESPN couldn’t bring America to the join the Big West title game until the second half. Still, it was a great platform for the conference and O.C. to showcase its talents as the Anteaters and Titans slugged it out for the automatic NCAA bid. 

For winner CSU-Fullerton, it’s the first NCAA Tournament in 30 years, when the ’78 squad made an improbable run to the Elite Eight.  And the similarities between that squad and this year’s bunch are numerous.  Almost spooky. 

• Both were three seeds in the conference tournament, and both entered it with eight losses.
• Both teams featured the school’s only conference players of the year. Greg Bunch back in the day, and now Scott Cutley for this year’s group.
• Fullerton Head Coach Bob Burton is in his 5th year at the helm of the Titan program. The same could be said about Bobby Dye, who was in his 5th season 30 years ago during the Titans 1st NCAA Tournament appearance.
• Back on November 11, 2007, the Titans defeated Cal State Los Angeles.  The teams hadn’t met since CSUF defeated them… in 1978. 

Gives you chills, right?  Still, despite all the eerie similarities, you might not want to bet the rent money on Fullerton, who face a daunting foe in their opening round matchup Thursday night against Big Ten champ Wisconsin.  The Badgers are very big, very physical, fundamentally sound, experienced, and lock teams down defensively.  But don’t completely discount Fullerton.  Although the Titans don’t have the size or strength of their Big Ten opponent, they may just be quick enough to give Wisconsin a run for their money. If Fullerton can turn the game into a track meet, that could spell doom for the Badgers.

In other news, the Titans were not the only O.C. team to be crowned champions over the weekend. Klay Thompson,the son of former Laker and current Lakers radio color analyst Mychal Thompson, dazzled the crowds at Arco Arena this past weekend, scoring 37 points to lead Santa Margarita High School of Rancho Santa Margarita to a CIF Division III State Title, 72-55 over Sacramento High. The 37 points tied a state record for the Washington State-bound Thompson, and his seven three pointers set a state championship game record.  A terrific feat, especially considering Klay’s father hit only one three pointer in his 12 season NBA career.

Santa Margarita’s Trinity League rivals also had success in Sacramento over the weekend. Last Friday, high school power Mater Dei of Santa Ana won its second consecutive CIF Division II state final, knocking off Archbishop Mitty of San Jose to capture the school’s seventh state title. Mitty’s Drew Gordon, who will be attending UCLA next season, was held to 16 points and 12 rebounds as Mater Dei won back-to-back state championships for the first time in school history.

Magnolia High School of Anaheim also had a berth in the Division III Girls State Title game but came up short to Sacred Heart Cathedral 48-33.

That’s a lot of successful hoop.  And okay, maybe the O.C. is still a ways away from truly being dubbed the Hoops Capital of the World, it was certainly a heck of a weekend.

Rahshaun Haylock is a production assistant for CBS2/KCAL9 Sports and does play-by-play and sports reporting for SportsNetUSA.net Internet radio. He likes to take a look at some of the less-talked about issues in SoCal sports.

Discuss: