LA CANADA MAKES A STATEMENT.

Byline: GERRY GITTELSON

GITTELSON BITS

ANAHEIM - The big surprise at the Southern Section boys' basketball championships Saturday wasn't that mighty Campbell Hall of North Hollywood won the Div. III-AA championship, but that the heavily favored Vikings nearly blew a 61-57 overtime victory over La Canada (28-3) at the Honda Center -- and that it was a lot closer than just about everyone expected.

"We proved everything we had to prove," La Canada's Adam Malik said. "Everyone said it was going to be a blowout. The only people who believed in us were ourselves, and I think we gained some respect."

Added teammate William Baldwin: "We just wanted to leave everything on the court and to make a statement."

No argument from Campbell Hall (29-1), No. 19 in USA Today's national rankings after a long series of one-sided victories.

"This does humble us," guard Robert Ford said. "We can't take anything for granted."

What a shootout between Malik, who scored 29 points with eight rebounds, and Campbell Hall's Jrue Holiday, who finished with 38 points and nine rebounds.

"For Adam, it was one of the greatest performances in the history of our school,"

La Canada coach Tom Hofman said.

Campbell Hall coach Terry Kelly said Holiday simply doesn't know how to lose.

"And that doesn't matter if it's basketball or checkers," Kelly said.

Campbell Hall's Keegan Hornbuckle, recovering from a bout of the flu that caused him to miss a semifinal victory over Oak Park, came through with several key plays down the stretch. He finished with seven points, six rebounds, four steals and just one foul in 35 minutes while guarding Malik.

"For Keegan to play 35 minutes and do that against Malik, that was huge for us," Kelly said.

It felt like the movie "Hoosiers" for freelance Renaissance Academy, a tiny La Canada-Flintridge school with just 55 high school students, against big bully Corona del Mar, a large public school of nearly 2,000 that had appeared in nine previous Southern Section championships, winning four.

And it should be pointed out a good share of Renaissance's student population includes exchange students from Japan, South Korea and Europe, most of whom don't know basketball from backgammon.

"The kids walked in a little more than an hour before the game, and they looked up at the arena, saw their names in lights, and were just in awe," Renaissance coach Sid Cooke said. "Corona del Mar has a lot more kids, but I told our players, 'Hey, it is what it is."'

For Renaissance's student body, there's never been a bigger party.

"We're such a small school but we've got so many amazing basketball players, so it's nice to be recognized," sophomore Alyssa Burke said.

Renaissance, a senior-less team made up of three juniors, seven sophomores and a freshman, lost 67-59, but certainly didn't embarrass itself, committing just six turnovers.

The 9 a.m. tip-off for the Renaissance-Corona del Mar final was crazy early, considering how far Anaheim is from the Valley. So the Renaissance kids stayed at a nearby hotel the night before, though that didn't mean the players got much rest.

"I think I woke up every hour because I was thinking about the game," center Anthony Stover said.

Stover, a baby-faced, 6-foot-8 sophomore, wears size 19 shoes and is a projected 7-footer. His father, Anthony Sr., played at Pepperdine.

Renaissance's season is far from over because the Wildcats, promoted from Div. V-Ato Div. III-A this season, qualified for the state playoffs by finishing as a section runner-up. And from here on, they're back in Div. V.

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