Eagles grounded; Matadors stun top-seeded Islanders

By Bill Dickens
Updated: February 26, 2017

Mount Miguel during introductions Saturday night at Coronado.

2016-17 EAST COUNTY PREP BOYS BASKETBALL
SDCIF Division 3 Quarterfinals

By Bill Dickens
© East County Sports.com

EL CAJON (2-26-17) — Led by the strong arm finish of RYAN KELLY, Granite Hills came up short in the quarterfinals of the San Diego CIF Division III playoffs as visiting Sage Creek slipped past the Eagles 72-60 Saturday night (Feb. 25).

Granite Hills during a time out in the fourth quarter Saturday night.

Kelly, a 6-foot-8 senior, nailed 9 of 11 shots from the field including a pair of treys and 10 of 11 free throws, and grabbed 8 rebounds but it wasn’t enough to send the Bobcats packing.

In a rush by guard JORDEN ROGERS, who finished with 16 points, the Eagles tried a belated comeback but were unsuccessful as Granite Hills was eliminated from further playoff action.

“I feel bad for our seniors,” said Eagles coach RANDY ANDERSON. “We had a great season with a school-best record of 24-6.”

The Eagles took a 7-1 lead but could not maintain the early advantage.

The game was tied 30-30 with 2:30 left to play in the third quarter.

The Eagles never recovered as Granite Hills continued to scramble back on back-to-back 3-point baskets by Rogers, which left the game tied at 44-44, but the Eagles could never overthrow the Bobcats.

Granite Hills: Ryan Kelly 25 (8 reb, 1 blk, 2 stl), Jorden Rogers 16 (1 ast), Moses Smith 7 (7 reb), Cameron Spitzer 7 (3 reb), Aaron Cobb 3, Xsavier Smith 2 (5 reb).

Norwood celebrates following the game.

MOUNT MIGUEL 55, CORONADO 45 – Probably the biggest upset of the night belonged to the Mount Miguel Matadors, who clipped the Coronado Islanders as an underdog in Saturday’s (Feb. 25) San Diego CIF Division III quarterfinal game.

DARIAN NORWOOD paced the Matadors with 19 points, and JAMES ALLEN pumped in 13 more as the Matadors kept their playoff streak alive.

RICKY HARVEY pitched in with 12 points for Mount Miguel.

The Matadors led 32-25 with four and a half minutes left in the third, but the Islanders made a pair of buckets to cut the lead to 32-29 with 3:30 to go in the third.

With a minute and half left in the third, MARQUISE EDWARDS put back and offensive rebound and drew the foul. He converted the play for a 37-31 edge. The Matadors led 39-31 after three.

Allen recorded a steal and drove all the way for a layup, giving the Matadors a 42-32 lead with 6:10 left in the game.

But the defining moment may have come just moments later when Norwood took a pass from Harvey and drove past his man on the baseline then up for a jam, bringing the traveling faithful to their feet.

Coronado got a steal and breakaway layup to pull to within 44-38 with 2:09 remaining. Moments later, a pair of Islander free throws closed the gap to 44-40.

Allen nailed a pair of clutch free throws on the next possession following a foul near midcourt.

Harvey then made a breakaway layup after a Coronado miss after Norwood played terrific defense forcing a fall away miss, then corraled the rebound, which came right back to him. The senior fired the pass down court to Allen.

Norwood also calmly canned his four freebies to help seal it in the final minute and Harvey also sank a pair.

Harvey also had six rebounds, five steals and three assists.

Mount Miguel will travel to Point Loma on Tuesday (Feb. 28) for a semifinal game at 7 p.m.

Mount Miguel: Darian Norwood 19 (12 reb, 2 ast, 3 stl), James Allen 13 (2 reb, 5 ast, 10 stl), Ricky Harvey 12 (6 reb, 3 ast, 5 stl), Marquise Edwards 5 (11 reb, 1 stl), Marquis Neal 3 (1 stl), Devon Brown 2 (2 reb), Mikeece Dunbar 1 (1 ast, 1 stl), Mugabee Miller (1 stl).

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