BOYS' DIV. V-A FINAL: AVC RUNS OUT OF GAS : EAGLES STAY CLOSE UNTIL THIRD QUARTER PRICE 77 A.V. CHR. 60.Byline: Chris Cocoles Daily News Staff Writer Antelope Valley This article is about the Los Angeles County region. For the census-designated place in Wyoming, see Antelope Valley-Crestview, Wyoming. The Antelope Valley Christian's height and quickness disadvantage made staying close to Price a difficult task. The Eagles teased tease v. teased, teas·ing, teas·es v.tr. 1. To annoy or pester; vex. 2. To make fun of; mock playfully. 3. themselves and their fans several times, clinging to the notion that a Division V-A V-A abbr. ventriculoatrial boys' basketball championship was within reach. At least until midway through the third quarter, when Price finally shook free of the pesky Eagles for a 77-60 win Friday at the Bren Center. Second-seeded A.V. Christian (21-3) and its trio of 20-point scorers, Jamal Flanagan, Peter Beaudin and Matthew Nurse, were able to stay close to the No. 1 Knights (29-2), trailing 36-30 at halftime. But A.V. Christian, which doesn't have much depth outside its starting five, wore down in the third quarter and was outscored 26-16 to trail 62-46. ``We got really tired at the end of the third quarter and the beginning of the fourth,'' said Flanagan, who finished with 15 points and seven rebounds. ``We just needed to keep our focus.'' The Knights turned up their defense to another level in the decisive third quarter, which has been Price's trademark all season in putting away opponents. The catalyst was sophomore guard Andrew Howard, whose quick hands keyed a 9-0 spurt spurt Vox populi A surge or abrupt ↑ in the size or speed of a thing. See Fat spurt, Growth spurt. that quelled quell tr.v. quelled, quell·ing, quells 1. To put down forcibly; suppress: Police quelled the riot. 2. another A.V. Christian mini-run and made it 60-42 late in the third quarter. Nurse (15 points) buried a 3-pointer off an inbounds in·bounds adj. 1. Basketball Involving putting the ball into play by passing it from out of bounds to a teammate on the court. 2. Sports Within the designated boundaries. pass and Beaudin (23) muscled inside for a bucket to pull the Eagles within 51-42. Howard stole the ball on two straight A.V. Christian possessions, making a layup of his own and assisting on Mychal Lynch's breakaway break·a·way adj. 1. Designed to break, bend, or fall apart easily upon impact, especially to create an illusion, as with a theater prop, or for safety, as with a highway sign or barrier. 2. basket. ``He's our designated defender,'' Price coach Mike Lynch said of Howard, whose final line included nine points, five rebounds, five assists and four steals. ``We always put him on the other team's best guard. He turns up the game a notch when he's in there.'' Said Howard: ``We really take pride in our team defense. That kind of got us going.'' The Eagles couldn't match up with Price's balanced and versatile starting five, which all average in double figures. Four of them, led by 6-foot-5 center Othel Johnson's 20, got there in the final. ``Had we boarded better, it might have been different. They went to the boards really strong. They kind of beat us up,'' said A.V. Christian coach David Nurse, whose team was outrebounded 26-22 despite having three players that averaged double digits Double Digits was a pricing game on the American television game show, The Price Is Right. Played from April 20, 1973 through May 18, 1973's show, it was played for a car and used small prizes. in that category. ``We kind of broke down a little bit.'' The Eagles, who lost to Pacific Hills in the section finals in 1996, will lose just one senior, guard Scott Hannah. ``We'll be there next year. Guaranteed,'' Flanagan said. ``We're going to get that championship that I want so badly.'' |
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