SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA REGIONAL BASKETBALL PLAYOFFS : Division V Boys : Bishop’s Five Are Better Than Oakwood’s One

GLENDALE — The Bishop’s High School boys’ basketball team arrived home at 4:30 a.m. Wednesday morning after its first-round Southern California Regional Division V playoff victory in Fresno and was back on a bus Thursday morning at 11 headed here for its regional semifinal game against North Hollywood Oakwood.

Somewhere in between, a weary Ren Marquette, Bishop’s coach, heard from friends that his team would be facing one of the state’s top players, a one-man team of sorts, in 6-foot 4-inch Mitchell Butler.

“Everybody I was talking to was making this kid out to be an NBA player or something,” Marquette said. “I had a tired group of players, and we had no time to prepare for him. All we could was what we do best.”

That meant Bishop’s would play its normal man-to-man defense and take its chances.

At first glance, it might seem that it didn’t work. Butler, as advertised, was tough to stop, and scored 32 points, 12 in the fourth quarter. He also had 16 rebounds, four blocked shots and three steals.

But it was not enough, and it is Bishop’s, not top-seeded Oakwood, that will go on to the regional final Saturday afternoon after a 46-44 victory at Hoover High School.

Bishop’s (24-1) is going because Butler missed a short jumper in traffic as time ran out and because its decision to do what it did best, play man-to-man defense and help out a lot, worked just well enough.

“He (Butler) is a fine player, but my kids did a heck of a job against him,” Marquette said. “Our man defense was tough and our kids did a great job of helping out. We’ve done it all year, and I saw no reason to change it. Heck, I didn’t have time to change it even if I wanted to.”

Chris McKenna, who fouled out late in the fourth quarter, guarded Butler for much of the night and did a good job of limiting him. Butler had scored 50 of Oakwood’s 55 points in an earlier section playoff game.

“Coach just told me not to get down if he scored and keep playing hard,” McKenna said. “Even though he got his points, I think we shut him down . . . well, I mean, shut him down more than usual.”

It wasn’t easy. Butler was the only Oakwood player to attempt a field goal in the first quarter, and he scored eight of team’s nine points. In the second quarter, Butler added eight more points, and Oakwood led, 19-18.

But in the third, McKenna denied Butler the ball and limited him to two baskets. Butler’s supporting cast was missing, and Bishop’s was able to open a lead.

Josh Peterson scored two baskets inside, and Maurile Tremblay, who led the Knights with 13 points, hit three shots from outside as Bishop’s opened a 34-28 lead. It was 38-28 with 7:12 left; Butler then scored 11 points in four minutes to bring Oakwood even at 39-39.

Two free throws by Butler put Oakwood ahead, 43-42, with 1:16 left, but McKenna grabbed a rebound, scored and made an ensuing free throw for a three-point play to put Bishop’s ahead for good, 45-43, with 1:07 remaining.

McKenna finished with 10 points. Guard Kamal Assaf added 12, and Peterson had 10. Combined with Tremblay’s 13, these four scored all of Bishop’s points in the game.

And they were just enough to overcome Oakwood’s one.