Santa Cruz Sentinel from Santa Cruz, California • Page 19

Sunday Tq) March 7, 1993 Giants don't missAI Rnsnn's riniH mnima a i 1 1 1 1 a til, rinnn Scoreboard, Page 6 CCS basketball championships IStUKS gods TOWS 31 -game streak comes to end vs. Palo Alto By JON WALSH Sentinel correspondent SAN JOSE And then there was one And unfortunately for the Harbor High boy's bas- ketball team, it's not them. The Pirates suffered their first loss of the season to undefeated Palo Alto in the Central Coast Section Division III final, 69-58, Saturday night at the San Jose State Events Center. In a match up the No. 1 and No.

2 teams in the state; the fate was practically determined from the opening tip, when No. 1 Palo Alto Chad Smith picked up the loose ball and drove to the hoop to give the Vikings a 2-0 lead just 5 seconds into the game. It appeared that Harbor would stick right with Palo Alto when Chris Shoemaker answered with a 3-point goal on the Pi-. rates' first trip downcourt. But the Vikings seemingly didn't miss any shots from the floor in the first quarter as they controled the boards and ran out to a quick 12-4 lead from which Harbor never seemed to recover.

"Obviously they came out and shot well in the first quarter," Harbor Coach Mike Gruber said of the Vikings, who were 14-for-35 in the first half, only to get better, 14-for-20, in the second half. "In the first half," Gruber said, "they had nine offensive rebounds compared to none for us. They surprised me with how well they rebounded. With Tim (Young) and Sam (Crosson) I thought that was one area where we could take them." "They shot incredibly well in the first quarter," Crosson said. "Those nine offensive rebounds were probably the only nine shots they missed." Please see BOYS B2 No gimmicks versus Vikings THERE WAS NO backing down.

And no time for fear. It was time to lace up the black sneakers and show why you're unbeaten and in the section championship game. And lace up those shoes tight. Real tight. Because that's the kind of game it was going to be for Harbor High and Palo Alto, both unbeaten as they locked up in the Central Coast Section Division III HMHBar Bill LovejoySentinel Often when 7-foot-1 Harbor center Tim Young drove inside to the hoop, Vikings like David Jefferson where there to harass him.

Gluhan triggers girls' victory over Los Altos boys basketball championship game Saturday night. Our best against your best. Let's go. "We weren't going to change our game plan for them," Harbor forward Rob Pif-ferini said. "Our game plan got us 31 wins.

We're going to keep playing the way we've been playing." Ed Vyeda Held in the CCS semifinals against Santa Cruz, dropped in five 3-pointers and scored 27 points on the way to a 59-46 win for the Pirates' first CCS title since 1987. "I think a lot of people thought next year was going to be our year," Pirate assistant coach Lynne Beebe said. "But we proved we were ready." The Pirates, whose starting lineup consists of sophomores Gluhan and Gates, juniors Cathy Mahoric and Miky-la Moody, and senior Angie Mahoric, never trailed after taking a 4-2 lead a little more than 1 minute into the game. They led by as many as 20 points, at 45-25 shortly into the fourth quarter. By ANGI CHRISTENSEN Sentinel correspondent SAN JOSE The Harbor High Pirates girls basketball team is a talented group and each of the players knows how to step into the spotlight and shine when their time comes.

"Everybody has to be able to say, 'It could be me tonight. I might be the Coach Nick Adams said. "Against Santa Cruz, it was Angle (Ma-horic). Mary Gates is always a key lor us. It could be anyone." Saturday night, in the Pirates' Central Coast Section championship game at San Jose State against the Los Altos Eagles, it was Megan Gluhan.

Gluhan, who didn't score from the In other words, no backing down. Harbor would have none of the tactics some other teams have tried against Palo Alto this season. Pirates Coach Mike Gruber never gave a thought to holding the ball, or slowing down the game to a virtual standstill. He didn't think his team needed any coaching trickery to win. Neither did the Pirates.

Please see GIMMICKS B2 Bill LoveioySentinel Please see girls B2 Megan Gluhan and Pirate friends exult with first-place medals. Sun Devils are Cal's latest victim High school baseballsoftball '93 Cards lay their trust in Crawford's arm coach Todd Bozeman, the former assistant who took over when Lou Campanelli was fired last month. Cal avenged a 90-83 loss to the Sun Devils in Tempe, a game played on what turned out to be Campanelli's last road trip. "Down in Tempo, guys played 30, 32 minutes a game," Bozeman said. "I don't really believe you have play guys 32 minutes to win a ball-game.

I have confidence in the guys on the bench. We're proud of the fact we have a lot of depth." Only Lamond Murray played more than 30 minutes Saturday, and for good reason. He was 10-for-12 from the floor, scoring a game-high 22 points. Stevin Smith, the Pac-lO's leading scorer at 20.6 per game, hit just 5 of 16 shots and finished with 16 points for the Sun Devils, who took forever to find the shooting range in the spacious Oakland Coliseum, where Cal now plays half of its home games. Seven of Murray's 10 baskets were dunks, tipping Cal's season total to a Pac-10 record-breaking 126 dunks.

Last season, Arizona State slammed in 125. They wouldn't be dunks without a great passing game. The Bears set a season-high with 26 assists 10 from freshman sensation Jason Kidd. Senior center Brian Hen-drick put in another solid performance, with 16 points and eight rebounds. He became the fourth player in Cal history to score 1,500 points in his career.

He now has 1,503. The Associated Press OAKLAND The records are now identical, but nothing else comes close when comparing the University of California to Arizona State these days. "We were bad," Arizona State men's basketball coach Bill Frieder stated after his team was mauled 91-67 by the Golden Bears on Saturday. "And they're just excellent. That's a real talented basketball team.

"I said last November that Cal is the most talented team in the league. We're happy to get a split with them this year." Cal, like Arizona State, is 17-8 overall and 10-6 in the Pacific 10 Conference. The Bears have won seven of eight games under interim for his fine '92 season. "Having a good defense behind me helped me an awful lot," Crawford said. "I'd get a ground-ball and I'd have the confidence in the infielders that they were going to make the play." And with the way Crawford pitches, his infielders can expect to see a 'ot of groundballs.

"The biggest thing that Chris does is that he keeps the ball down," said Escalante, a former star catcher at Santa Cruz and San Jose State. "He's really tough and he gets tougher when he's behind in the count. He's got a good changeup which he uses to set people up and then gets them with a curve." "I think my curve is my best pitch," Crawford said. "I have a fastball in the low 80s and I really just added the changeup over the winter." Crawford's pitch selection reminds Escalante of another Santa Cruz pitcher, John Wilson, currently the head coach of the Cardinals. "I was John's catcher for a couple of years and I see some similarities," Escalante said.

By JON WALSH Sentinel correspondent ANYBODY WHO KNOWS baseball will confirm that a successful pitcher needs a steady head just as much as a strong arm. Hence, the success of Santa Cruz High right hander Chris Crawford. Crawford, the top returning pitcher in the Santa Cruz Coast Athletic League this season, confesses that he doesn't have the most powerful arm in the world. But he uses other intangibles to baffle hitters, as Cardinals assistant coach Rudy Escalante attests. "He's a very smart pitcher," Escalante said.

"He really understands the game, much more than other kids at his age do. He has an outstanding work ethic and mechanics." A senior, Crawford is beginning his fourth season on the varsity squad. His junior season boasted numbers such as a 12-1 record, 82 strikeouts in 93 Innings and an impressive earned-run average of 1.81. But Crawford is quick to spread the praise Rockies score mountainous win over SF Chris Crawford SCCAL's top returning pitcher "Neither has or had overpowering stuff, but they're very consistent and competitive. Chris has very good composure.

Even when things are getting rough, he doesn't really get rattled." With Crawford's fine junior season come the expectations of Please see CRA WFORD B7 a playoff game and it showed in the way we played." When Steve Reed fanned John Patterson for the final out, Baylor said he "wished it was opening day in Shea Stadium in New York (April 5), but we'll take this one." It may have been only an exhibition, but Baylor said it "wasn't just another game for me. I got some butterflies when I started writing the lineup out, and forgot how to sign my name, almost. I've done it so many times (in my head), but this time it was for real." Fans were treated to a festive, distinctly Southwestern atmosphere, with mariachi bands and the Sons of the Pioneers singing the national anthem. Tickets valued at $7 were being scalped for as high as $25, and one man was so desperate to see the game he paid $45 for a $4 seat. During pre-game ceremonies, Rockies chairman and chief executive officer eftMclorris was presented tlte key tn 'tlie stadium.

McMorris told the cheering fans, Please see ROCKIMtRH The Associated Press TUCSON, Ariz. The 7,726 Tans who jammed Hi Corbett Field for the Colorado Rockies' first-ever Major League Baseball exhibition game Saturday experienced sun, fun and something most of them didn't really expect, a solid 7-2 victory over the San Francisco Giants. "It was a very special day for everybody," Rockies Manager Don Baylor said. "Our team took it seriously you could toll in the clubhouse that our guys were ready for.