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Parker Strauss provided a lift for the Tritons during their regional title run. (Photo: Tim Burt, OC Sports Zone).
Pacifica Christian High School’s boys basketball team got a lift when senior guard Parker Strauss returned to the lineup for the CIF SoCal Regional finals.
Strauss missed the CIF Division 2A semifinal game against La Mirada with a calf injury.
But he returned to the lineup in the state tournament and was one of the inspirational leaders in the Tritons 52-51 victory over Orange Lutheran Tuesday night in the CIF SoCal Division II regional final.
“I put in a lot of work with our training staff to get me back out here,” said the 6-4 Strauss, who had four points and was a defensive force and leader.
“It was tough watching my guys out there (from the sidelines), I love them to death and I love competing with them. This is the best group I’ve ever played with. We play together and we play hard and we reaped the benefits tonight with all of our hard work.
“I think we were tougher, we knew we had to rebound, we knew we had to get back transition except early in the game, they got one. Besides that, we locked in and played really well together.”
Strauss, who will continue his career at Northwestern University, was happy for Pacifica Christian Coach Jeff Berokoff.
“I’ve said it multiple times, he’s the best coach in America,” he said. “I don’t think it’s even close. He can inspire anybody. I love playing for him. I don’t want to play for anybody else.”
Berokoff was happy to have Strauss back.
“He doesn’t score a ton of points but he fills up a stat sheet and he’s the ultimate winner,” the coach said. “He does so many things that people don’t notice, he’s a champion.”
Tritons just wanted one more game
Pacifica Christian had to regroup after losing to La Mirada in the CIF 2A semifinals. The Tritons had a week off before starting play in the state tournament.
But they remained close, Berokoff said.
“I’m very lucky because my kids truly love each other,” he said. “They didn’t want the season to be over. They just wanted one more game. We just kept preaching love in our program and being together. They really do love each other and I think it shows by how we play.”
Lancers coach proud of seniors
Orange Lutheran Coach Daniel Dunbar praised the efforts of his seniors Tuesday night and throughout the season.
“Without a senior group that we have, Cannon (Potter) and David (Manea) and Javon (Smith) and Christian (Coles) and all those guys, this doesn’t happen,” he said. “It’s a player-driven program and those seniors did a great job leading us all the way through.”
Orange Lutheran advanced to the regional final with a 51-50 victory over Tesoro in the semifinals.
“We beat Tesoro by one and it felt great and today, we’re on the other side of it and we lose by one and it’s tough, but I’m just proud of our guys and how hard they fought to comeback in this game and give us a chance to win it,” Dunbar said.
“The state regional final is the farthest we’ve ever made it.”
Already the coach is thinking about next season.
“Usually you get at least a month or something to take a break, but you play this long and we got a week or two and then we’re back in the weight room and we’re back training and preparing for the next year,” Dunbar said. “We got summer basketball and spring basketball coming up, quicker than they realize.
“But I am so proud of the senior group because without them, we don’t even get near to this spot. I’m bummed that they don’t get to make the trip up to Sacramento but they did a lot of great things for not only our team, but our culture.”
Big crowd at Orange Lutheran
The stands were packed for Tuesday night’s game as fans from both Pacifica Christian and Orange Lutheran showed up. OLu Athletic Director Vince Brown said it was the largest home crowd in several years, about 1,500.
“It was standing-room-only, it was a great turnout and a great high school environment,” Dunbar said. “You love to play in these types of games, absolutely.”
“We’ve got the best fans, without them, we couldn’t have done that, they were so loud, it was awesome,” said Berokoff.
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—Tim Burt, OC Sports Zone; timburt@ocsportszone.com
