SANTA ANA — Avery Johnson got the steal near midcourt, took off and slammed the ball at the buzzer.
It was an exclamation point — and the buzzer only signified the end of the third quarter.
But Johnson and his Ocean View High teammates had already shown they wouldn’t be denied. They made a powerful statement in winning the Seahawks’ first CIF boys’ basketball title since 1998, and second overall.
Ocean View cruised by an overmatched Inglewood squad, 76-47, Saturday in the CIF Southern Section Division IV-AA title game at Mater Dei High.
A team with just one senior in its rotation dominated nearly every aspect of the game, and won a plaque because of it. Now the Seahawks will prepare for the CIF State Division III Southern California regional, which begins Tuesday.
Ocean View is the No. 2-seeded team, behind Harvard-Westlake. The Seahawks begin with a first-round home game against Cathedral Catholic at 7 p.m.
Ocean View Coach Jim Harris, whose 31st season will continue at least a while longer, said one of the keys to the CIF title run was attitude.
"Go out there and go at it right now, and don’t wait to see anything," Harris said he told his players. "And they did. They played really well together, and made great decisions. The biggest key, of many, was that Avery Johnson and Anthony Brown were who they should be. They were pretty complete players, I’ll tell you that. They rebounded, they scored and they defended. The biggest thing was the rebounding ... somehow we play up [in size]."
Brown had 21 points, 10 rebounds and three steals for the Seahawks (24-7). Johnson had 20 points and five blocks, many of those of the sensational variety.
Senior Mason Jones added 18 points and four assists.
The trio set the tone in the opening quarter, when they made four three-pointers and combined for all 24 of Ocean View’s points. At one point, the No. 3-seeded Seahawks led, 18-4, which was similar to a 17-2 start in their semifinal win over Serra.
The difference this time? The foot stayed on the gas, and the hands stayed in the faces of Inglewood shooters.
The No. 4-seeded Sentinels, who had scored 97 points in an overtime win over top-seeded Bishop Montgomery in the semifinals, scored less than half that Saturday. They also shot just 31% from the field, compared to 47% for Ocean View.
