DANA POINT — The Pacifica Christian boys basketball team was physically dominant Friday in a 76-56 win over Dana Hills in the second round of the CIF-SS Division 2A playoffs at Dana Hills High.
The Tritons had 42 rebounds compared to 18 for the Dolphins. Pacifica Christian also played a full-court press defense for much of the game and forced 17 turnovers.
Dana Hills (19-9) was held to single digit points in the second and third quarters because of the Tritons’ pressure defense. During that span, the Dolphins missed 10 consecutive 3-point attempts.
“They are a really good drive-and-kick team and shoot in transition well, so we knew they were going to make shots,” Pacifica Christian coach Jeff Berokoff said. “We just kept getting our hands up and made sure they felt us whenever they got the ball. I thought our defense was excellent tonight against a great shooting team.”
On the other end of the court, Pacifica Christian was able to drive and get the ball inside with ease. The Tritons had over 30 points in the paint and made 28 free throws.
EJ Spillman led Pacifica Christian’s offense with 19 points and 11 rebounds. The sophomore has scholarship offers from Pepperdine and Fordham among others.
“He’s got some of the greatest feet around,” Berokoff said. “He got in the paint all day long. He’s so good and shifty and has great touch around the rim.”
Logan Stewart also had a double-double for the Tritons with 12 points and 10 rebounds. Sarge Deal had 12 points and Alex Stewart added 11.
The Tritons will host Sonora in the quarterfinals on Tuesday. Berokoff played at Sonora for coach Mike Murphy. Berokoff won three Freeway League championships as a player there and has the school record for points in a season (601) and points per game (24).
“Coach Murphy is one of the best coaches in the country,” Berokoff said. “It will be really great to see him and give him a hug. I’m glad at least one of us gets to win and move on.”
Pacifica Christian was able to hold the county’s leading scorer, Collin Haugh of Dana Hills, to just six points in the first three quarters. Haugh finished with 19 points.
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Niki Grguric had 12 points for the Dolphins and Dennis Powers had 11.
Dana Hills won the Sea View League championship this season, its first league title since 2014.
“I’m very proud of this group, it’s one of the more resilient groups I have had,” Dana Hills coach Tom Desiano said. “They (Pacifica Christian) were bigger, stronger, faster and well-coached. There’s no excuses. My hat’s off to them and I’m sure they will go a long way.”
The two teams had previous playoff history and recently played in the Division 4AA quarterfinals. Pacifica Christian won that game 50-31 and reached the championship game that year.