Indians shut down Whittier
Defense doesn't allow score late in fourth as Palm Springs wins

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Palm Springs High School V. Whittier High School
Palm Springs High School's Mike Brown shoots the ball as Whittier defenders try to block him Wednesday during their game in Palm Springs. The Indians won 59-52.

Jennifer Soliz, The Desert Sun

Palm Springs High School's Mike Brown shoots the ball as Whittier defenders try to block him Wednesday

Thomas B. Fassnacht
Special to The Desert Sun
February 15, 2007

PALM SPRINGS - Opening-round action of the CIF Division III-A boys basketball championship tournament got underway Wednesday evening at Palm Springs High School. The Indians hosted the Whittier High School Cardinals. Both teams played fearless basketball, trading scoring runs throughout the first three quarters.

Trailing early in the fourth, the Indians turned to their defense and held the Cardinals scoreless for the final five minutes and 38 seconds of the game to earn a 59-52 victory.

"This is a huge win, huge for our confidence," said Palm Springs head coach Dennis Zink, who guided the Indians to a 17-7 regular-season mark. "This shows the guys we belong here. It's all uphill from here, but this was definitely a confidence builder."

Palm Springs fell behind early, but senior Mike Brown quickly picked up the Indians. The athletic swing man scored six points in the first quarter, and led his team on an 8-2 scoring run to close the first with a 14-13 lead.

It looked like the Indians were going to blow the game open early in the second quarter. Sophomore guard Theo Murrell hit a 3-pointer, and followed it up with a steal and assist, finding Brown at the basket for an easy layup. The outburst sparked a frenzied minute which saw the Indians extend their lead to 24-13.

Reserve center Trent Wilder gave Palm springs a big lift off the bench in the second quarter. Wilder scored seven points in the quarter on his way to 11 points and 8 rebounds in the game.

Whittier withstood the Palm Springs strike and quietly chipped away at the Indians lead.

Both teams struggled to find an offensive rhythm to open the third quarter. The teams traded turnovers and scoring runs before Whittier scored back to back baskets to put Whittier ahead 46-44 at the end of the third.

With 5:38 remaining, the Indians trailed 52-51. Palm Springs had three opportunities to capture the lead but were unable to do so, however the Indians did not give Whittier another solid look at the basket.

With 4:30 to play coach Zink asked his Indians for four more stops.

"In that final time out, we talked about getting four stops, four more in a row. We ended up getting a lot more than that."

The Indians were led by senior guard Andre Helton, who seemed to find the ball in each clutch situation.

Helton had four steals in the final two minutes, and handed out a handful of assists, many of them to Mike Brown, who scored 26 points.

"Helton is a three-year varsity player," said Zink. "He rarely comes out of the game and he is our rock."

About Mike Brown, the coach said: "Brown did what he does, he led us to victory."

Palm Springs earned the right to face fourth seeded Corona del Mar on Friday evening in Corona del Mar.