By Pete Borello

Foothill Roundup

Swimming

Points were at a premium and missed shots were the norm last Thursday in Foothill College’s 55-49 loss to Moorpark in the quarterfinals of the men’s basketball state championships in Stockton.

“There was a lid on the basket for everybody,” Foothill coach Todd Petersen said. “It was a brick-athon. It wasn’t exciting basketball unless you like defense and rebounding.”

The Owls (25-10) in particular tested the durability of the rims and backboards at the University of the Pacific’s Spanos Center. Foothill made just 17 of its 64 field goal attempts (26.6 percent) on its way to the team’s lowest scoring output of the season. The Owls were especially atrocious from beyond the three-point arc, making only two of 22 tries (11 percent).

Still, Foothill managed to lead 25-22 at intermission.

“Considering the way we were shooting, we were happy to be up three at the half,” Petersen said. “But then in the second half, we turned the ball over a couple of times and had some defensive lapses that gave them some easy baskets.”

A majority of the Owls’ 15 turnovers came in the second half, where their shooting went from bad to worse. Foothill, the third seed from the north, shot 21.6 percent in the half.

South No. 2 Moorpark built a 10-point lead with seven minutes remaining.

Sensing the game was getting away, Petersen changed his team’s defensive approach in an effort to induce Moorpark (25-5) into making turnovers.

“We went to a 1-2-2 half-court trap that caused some problems and got us within three or four points,” Petersen said.

But it still wasn’t enough.

Randall Powell led Foothill in scoring with 14 points and Fred Adjiwanou added 11.

“I was pleased with the way we executed; we played very hard and our defense was good,” Petersen said. “But turnovers and poor shooting hurt us.”

Foothill won three Northern California playoff games to reach the state championships, which bring together the final four teams from each region: north and south. Prior to this season, the Owls had never advanced the state tournament.

“The guys are disappointed,” Petersen said of being eliminated. “But only one team is going to end the season happy.”

Despite another school-record swim from Missy Bommarito, the Foothill women lost 52-43 last Friday at West Valley .

Bommarito set a new mark in the 50-meter freestyle with a time of 25.06 seconds. The St. Francis High grad also won the 100 breaststroke, while Clarice Macdonell captured the 200 individual medley and 100 butterfly.

“We had excellent swims and I’m really pleased,” Owls coach Bill Henderson said. “When it comes to the championships I think we can beat this team.”

The Foothill men lost to West Valley 80-9.