No silver lining for Cabrillo in loss to Santa Margarita

No silver lining for Cabrillo in loss to Santa Margarita

Jaguars fall for second night in row at BIW Tournament.

By Frank Burlison, Staff writer

Article Launched: 12/12/2007 05:13:23 AM PST

HUNTINGTON BEACH - As part of the 36th annual Best in the West Tournament at Ocean View High, Cabrillo High is getting the opportunity to play some of the best teams in Southern California.

Monday, under second-year coach Vadim Malikin, the Jaguars held up well against Pasadena before falling, 58-49.

Tuesday, Cabrillo hooked up with another elite squad and the results weren't quite as uplifting as they were 24 hours before. Santa Margarita, a team with a solid chance to win the CIF Southern Section Division I-AA title in March, overwhelmed the Jaguars from the get-go and didn't let up while rolling to a 76-38 victory with a running clock in the fourth quarter.

The Eagles are deep and talented, but there isn't a lot of mystery as to who their best player is. Six-foot-seven Klay Thompson, the son of Lakers' broadcaster Mychel Thompson and a first-team selection on the Press-Telegram's Best in the West team, dominated play on both ends of the floor against the Jaguars (2-5).

Thompson, who signed a national letter of intent last month with Washington State, had 20 points, eight assists, six rebounds and four steals to help his team improve to 5-0.

He also did a commendable job defending Cabrillo's best player, 6-1 sophomore Deonta Burton, who was one of the Moore League's leading scorers as a freshman. Burton finished with a team-high 13 points but missed 15 of his 20 shots from the field.

Cabrillo, which faces Temecula Valley in a consolation game Thursday night at 6 at Wilson High, was in position to win its game against Pasadena late Monday night before the Bulldogs pulled away down the stretch behind the play of Serra transfer Keion Bell (20 points).

Burton scored 19 for his team Monday. And the Jaguars also got a quality performance from freshman guard Harrison Hawkins, who finished with 14 points - 11 of those in the second half.