By Pete Borello

Boys Basketball Playoffs

Depth proved to be the difference in last Friday’s state Division II boys basketball final.

Dominguez High, even without All-American Tyson Chandler, handled St. Francis 71-53 at Sacramento’s Arco Arena.

The Lancers played with the Dons early on and led 19-14 after the first quarter.

But St. Francis (22-10) couldn’t keep up after two key players went down with injuries late in the opening period. Center David Chiotti rolled his ankle and shooting guard Jermel Gilliard sustained a groin injury.

Dominguez (Compton) went on a 21-5 run in the second quarter to go up 35-24 at the half.

Chiotti and Gilliard returned in the second half, but coach Steve Filios said “neither of them were on the same level they normally are.”

The Dons extended their lead to 49-31 after the third quarter and St. Francis couldn’t put together enough of a run to get back into the game.

“We were out of sync offensively in the second half,” Filios said. “We couldn’t sub like we would have liked to.”

For the game, the Lancers made just 19 of 54 shots from the field (35 percent).

Dominguez (31-4) shot a torrid 71.4 percent in the first half and out-rebounded St. Francis 42-22 in all.

“They had better depth and athletes and they shot the ball extremely well,” Filios said of Dominguez, which became the first school to win three straight state titles.

The Dons made up for the absence of Chandler, a 7-foot-1 center who may be headed to the NBA next season, with a balanced attack. Four Dominguez players scored in double-digits, topped by Bobby Jones’ 21.

Forward Troy Bienemann led St. Francis with 12 points and Chiotti had nine.

Point guard Hakeem Gilliard, Jermel’s younger brother, tallied eight points and three assists.

“He was our iron man,” Filios said. “He kept us alive.”

Hakeem, a junior, scored five points in the initial quarter and his brother had seven. The Lancers scored on their first four possessions of the game.

“With Chandler not in there, we took it at them a little more because we weren’t worried about getting blocked,” Filios said.

Although Filios admitted his team is disappointed with the way the season ended, he said it won’t take away from what St. Francis accomplished this year.

“It was a very special season,” the coach said. “I think the players are going to remember the run to the state championship game long after the game is forgotten.”

Despite finishing fourth in the West Catholic Athletic League, the Lancers went on to win the Central Coast Section title and win three NorCal playoff games, two in overtime.

Aztecs in league playoffs

Alta Vista High, a continuation school in Mountain View, hosts the South Bay Big Four league playoffs today at Cubberley Community Center in Palo Alto.

The Aztecs, who went 6-2 in the regular season, open play at 11 a.m. against Peninsula. If they win, they will play for the title at noon against either Robertson or New Valley.

Alta Vista is led by Dominique Sims, who’s averaging 11 points and seven rebounds per game, and Luke Kleninger, who’s scoring eight points a contest.

The Aztecs are coached by Bob Adams and John Figueroa.