Playoffs a roller coaster of emotions
CRUSHING DEFEAT—Thousand Oaks High goalkeeper Pedro Hernandez buries his head in the turf after Marina scored its sixth and final penalty kick during Tuesday’s postseason match.
WENDY PIERRO/Acorn Newspapers It was a fat Tuesday for some and a tough Tuesday for others.
Six area boys’ basketball teams played CIF-Southern Section postseason games Tuesday night. Four were left standing when the dust settled.
Thousand Oaks, Royal, Calabasas and Oak Park punched their tickets to the next round while Oaks Christian and Viewpoint fell just short of advancing.
In Division 2AA hoops action, Thousand Oaks shocked top-seeded Ocean View 82-65 at TOHS.
“It was big,” Lancer head coach Richard Endres said. “I’m not sure anybody other than our small group of players believed we had a shot.”
Thousand Oaks nailed 11 3-point baskets against Ocean View. Senior guard Tanner Fanjoy led the Lancers’ long-range assault with 27 points, including seven 3-pointers.
“We got some really good shots, and we didn’t force shots,” Endres said. “Any time you get good shots like that your percentage is going to go up.”
In addition to some red-hot shooting, the Lancer defense clamped down on Ocean View’s 7-foot, 265-pound senior center Conor Clifford, who finished with 11 points and 12 rebounds.
“Our guys did what they had to do to limit (Clifford’s) touches,” the coach said. “He’s almost a foot taller than anyone we have, but we made every shot difficult for the kid.”
Thousand Oaks (20-8) plays host to Poly of Riverside (20-8) in Friday’s quarterfinal. Tipoff is slated for 7 p.m.
Competing on the road, Royal upended Villa Park 59-47 in a Division 2AA second-round affair.
The Highlanders (22-6) draw Tesoro (16-12) at home Friday night.
In Division 3AA quarterfinal action, top-seeded Calabasas hammered Lakeside, 70-56. CHS held Lakeside to seven fourthquarter points.
Senior center Holden Israel finished with 27 points and 10 rebounds for Calabasas.
The Marmonte League champion Coyotes (25-3) travel to Torrance (16-13) Friday at 7 p.m. with a trip to the section finals hanging in the balance.
Oak Park had no problems in its Division 3A quarterfinal thrashing of Atascadero, 75-46.
The Eagles led by 23 points at halftime and never let Atascadero back in the ballgame.
Junior point guard Ron Lee paced Oak Park’s charge with a game-high 24 points. Senior guard Jackson Hall chipped in 14 points. Junior forward J.D. Slajchert snagged 13 rebounds.
Tri-Valley League title holder Oak Park (23-7) plays at St. John Bosco (22-6) at 7 p.m. in Friday’s semifinal.
Oaks Christian fell to Lutheran 50-48 at home in a nipand tuck Division 4AA matchup. Lion senior point guard Chass Bryan missed a potential game-winning 3-pointer in the waning seconds.
OCHS completed its season with a 22-7 record.
Viewpoint was bounced by Cantwell-Sacred Heart 70-65 in a Division 4A quarterfinal at home. The Patriots finished 18-10 overall.
Moving on to boys’ soccer, both Thousand Oaks and Royal lost Division 1 playoff matches Tuesday afternoon.
With their match deadlocked at zero after two overtimes, Thousand Oaks was dispatched by Marina 6-5 on penalty kicks.
Royal fell to Loyola 2-1 in double overtime.
All area boys’ soccer teams have been eliminated from the postseason.
Local girls’ soccer, basketball and water polo teams were in action Wednesday but scores were not available at press time.



