Damien dominates St. Bernard, moves on to semis

Sooner or later, the Damien boys basketball team is going to find itself in a fight during the CIF Southern Section Division 1 playoffs.

But not yet.

If you thought it couldn’t get much better than racing to a 32-point lead and hammering Crossroads 68-50 in the second round last week, it did.

Damien blitzed visiting St. Bernard in the quarterfinals Tuesday night, using a 23-3 run over the first and second quarters to blow the game open. The Spartans

took a 27-point lead at halftime and went on to win 74-46.

They advance to Friday’s semifinals and earned a ticket to the state playoffs.

Damien (26-4), the third seed, will be home Friday to face Windward in the semifinals. Windward defeated Los Alamitos 77-75 in double overtime Tuesday night.

Once again, Damien’s insideoutside tandem of 7-footer Nate Garcia and senior guard Xavier Clinton proved too much for its opponent, along with the Spartans’ harassing defense that held the Vikings to just 15 points in the first half.

Clinton scored a game-high 26 points and Garcia finished with 20. Eli Garner added 15 points.

“We’re just hungry, we want it so bad,” Clinton said. “We just work hard every day and we come in and have fun.”

Clinton isn’t surprised by the blowout margins in the playoffs.

“I’m not, because I know what we’re capable of,” Clinton said. “Last year we took one on the chin in the quarterfinals and we want it so bad, so we’re coming back. This year we want to win (it all).”

St. Bernard (15-12), which beat La Mirada 72-71 in a thriller last week to advance, got a teamhigh 10 points from Gary Ferguson. Kendyl Sanders had nine points and Tajh Ariza finished with eight.

The Spartans had trouble finishing in the opening minutes, but Garcia scored six straight during an 11-0 run that ended the quarter, giving them a 19-5 lead.

They kept building up the lead after that.

The Spartans’ defense continued to create havoc in the second quarter, leading to several fast breaks and open shots. Clinton’s steal and basket, followed by his corner 3-pointer, pushed the Spartans’ lead to 20 points.

The Spartans’ 12-0 run in the second quarter was part of a 23-3 run that gave them a 31-8 lead. They led 41-15 at half and cruised the rest of the way.

Garcia explained why everything is clicking, particularly with him and Clinton.

“It’s that chemistry,” Garcia said. “We’ve known each other for so long, and we work on it every day in practice. They doubleteam me and I kick it out to him in practice.”

Garcia also echoed Clinton’s thoughts on why they’ve looked so dominant.

“We want it bad,” Garcia said. “That’s all I got to say. We worked our butts off; we want it bad.”